


So That Just Happened

by Azure_K_Mello



Series: The Food Network Presents… [9]
Category: CW Network RPF
Genre: Gen, I was mean to Chad's mother, No Romance, but a lot of bromance, don't read it if you don't like it, really mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-18 01:03:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/873923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azure_K_Mello/pseuds/Azure_K_Mello
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Title: So That Just Happened</p><p>Word Count: 22,797</p><p>Summary: When Jared went to the Oscars for Jensen, Chad told him to stop acting like an Oscar virgin. Chad won his first Oscar in college and finds the whole thing passé. This is a look at Chad's first trip to the Oscars.<br/>Rating: Chad’s filthy mouth is the only thing questionable in the story. There’s no romance. </p><p>NOTE: I was really torn on this one. Do I have the right to talk about the fact that Chad's mom left his dad to raise their kids when Chad was ten? I don't feel badly about writing Joshua Jackson being a rapist because that's not true. So if you have a problem with me painting Chad's mother as a deadbeat you shouldn't read this. </p><p>NOTE 2: I have no idea if Chad's half brother Tyler is older than him or younger than him. I also have no idea which parent makes them brothers. So I made it up. I made this all up. Chad doesn't have an Oscar... yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So That Just Happened

Chad was having a fucking strange day and it was barely eleven. The good parts were unbelievably great and the bad were truly terrible. His cell phone had been ringing continually. And now he just needed to find Jared. He wasn’t at the apartment, Chad knew he didn’t have class and his phone was off. He called Paris and waited for her to pick up.

“Chad!” she screamed. “We just heard about the Oscar nomination! You must be flipping out. Congratulations.”

“Are you with Jared?”

“No, are you crying?”

“Paris, I need Jared. Please. His phone isn’t on and I need him.”

“He was going to the library and then was going to the sandwich place at York and Sixty-Fourth. Are you okay?”

“I just really need, Jared.”

“Chad, congratulations. We’re going to cook you a special dinner.”

“Thanks, Paris, I love you.”

“I love you too, Chad. Go find Jay.” 

He hung up and ran ten blocks and two avenues to get there as fast as possible. He was wearing jeans and a hoodie and was clearly dressed neither for the weather nor running. He almost slipped on muddy ice three times. He ran through the door and saw Jared at a booth, unhinging his jaw to eat a massive fucking sandwich. Chad went to the booth, he didn’t move to sit opposite Jared but instead moved to sit next to him. Jared lit the fuck up and said, “I was gonna call but I thought your phone would be jammed and I thought, ‘Let the losers congratulate him first: I live with the man.’ The girls are planning a special dinner. I’m cooking you a late lunch. I just stopped here because I’m starving and I didn’t want to eat your special lunch while cooking it. Congratulations!” Chad’s been fighting it all day, honest, but now — in the face of his best friend’s smile — he bursts into tears. He dropped his head onto Jared’s shoulder. “Okay,” said Jared reaching around him to grab one of the to-go boxes the deli always left on the tables. 

“Seriously?” demanded Chad. “I burst into tears and you wrap up your fucking sandwich?”

“If you wanted nothing but sympathy you would have gone to the girls. If you wanted shouting and enthusiasm you would have gone to Mike. I’m the pragmatic one. I’m going to fix your problem. I’m also going to bring my sandwich because it costs fifteen bucks.”

“It cost fifteen bucks?”

“It’s Kobe beef, bacon, spinach and heirloom tomatoes with a pesto dressing. It’s amazing.” He looked around and said, “I’m gonna start fixing today right now.” He hit Chad’s hip with his own to get him to move. 

Chad moved to the other side of the booth. No one was looking at them. New Yorkers were always careful to look away from personal scenes. Chad loved it. It had always let him get away with vomiting on the streets when he was down from home and drunk with the football team in high school. Jared didn’t get that because he was from Texas where people were “friendly.” Side note: to the best of Chad’s knowledge way more people got lynched in Texas than in New York. 

Jared stood and said, “Excuse me ladies and gentleman, I’m sorry to interrupt. You might wonder why this dude just burst into tears. Look in the entertainment section of any paper or magazine and you will see his name. This is Chad Michael Murray. He has been nominated for the Best Live Action Short Film at this year’s Oscars. He’s also a senior in NYU’s film department. I think you all agree that if there is ever a day when you’re allowed to have a breakdown in public — other than your birthday, obviously — it’s the day you’re nominated for an Oscar while still in college. So, I’m not sure why he’s sad and not overjoyed. But you can help me fix this. Would you please give Oscar nominated Chad Michael Murray a round of applause?” People did, and they cheered. Chad laughed and started to wipe his eyes. As it died down Jared said, “Thanks, y’all, I think that’s the beginning of his day turning around. Watch the Oscars, ‘cause I’ve got faith in my best friend’s film. Thank you so much for your time. Please enjoy your sandwiches.”

Lots of people were smiling at Chad as he tried to pull himself together. Jared had managed to cover the booth in books highlighters, pens, and notebooks. He started to gather his stuff up. “Did you not wear a coat?”

“Paris said you were here so I just ran from our apartment.”

Jared studied him, “Do you even have your keys?”

“Yes. But I don’t have my wallet.”

“That’s okay. Take these,” he held out his gloves. “I’d offer you my coat but-”

Chad interrupted, “Dude, I’m not your boyfriend.”

“Exactly.”

A kid came up to the booth and said, “Excuse me?”

Chad turned to her and smiled, “Hi.” She was maybe seven or eight. “What’s up?”

“Mom always tells me not to bother celebrities when we see them on the street. But she said she thought that maybe it would be okay if I came and said that I think it’s really cool that you’re nominated for an Oscar.”

“Thank you,” he said with a smile. 

“Do you know who you’re wearing yet?” she asked. 

He felt the smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, “The nicest tux I can rent for under two hundred bucks.”

“They won’t send you one?”

“I don’t think so, maybe, my dad was going to call about hotel rooms and stuff so I’m sure they’ll figure it out.”

“Who are you taking as your date?” she asked.

“My dad.”

“Not a real date?”

“I only get a pair of tickets. How many chances do you get to go to the Oscars? I can get a date any time but I might only get one chance to bring my dad to the Oscars,” he said with a smile.

“That’s cool,” she said. She looked nervous then she sort of blurted, “Can I please have your autograph?”

Chad felt his smile grow wider, “Really? Sure! I’ve never given out an autograph before.” 

“But you got nominated for an Oscar,” she looked confused.

“Live Action Short Film isn’t one of the big famous categories. Do you still want an autograph?” She nodded enthusiastically. “Cool. Jared, you got some paper I can sign?”

“Better than that,” said Jared. He reached for a newspaper he’d spread out over the table and turned it to the entertainment section.

Chad smiled and looked down the nominations list. He circled his name and said, “Honey, what’s your name?” 

“Gloria,” she said.

“Pretty name,” said Chad. He turned to lean on the table.

A woman came over and said, “Gloria, I think you’ve taken up enough of their time.” 

Chad just smiled, “No it’s fine: I’m signing my first autograph. Gloria is really helping to improve my mood.” He wrote, “Dear Gloria, Thanks for being cool!” Then he signed it with the signature he’d practiced as a kid in case he ever got famous. He’d figure that if he ever got famous he wouldn’t want to use his real signature in case someone used it to write fake checks. He added an x for a kiss and held it out to Gloria. “I circled my name for you and everything.” 

“Wow, thanks, Mr. Murray,” she said and Chad saw Jared quickly move to cover a laugh with a cough.

“It’s just Chad to my friends, Gloria, and I assure you: the pleasure is all mine.” 

She and her mother went back to the table as Jared said, “We’re set,” and shrugged into his coat. 

Just as they were moving to leave a girl from behind the counter called, “Wait!” Jared looked back at the table clearly making sure he’d left a tip. But she rushed to them with a to-go box and pushed it at Chad, “Same thing as your friend, on the house. Congratulations!”

“Wow, thanks!” said Chad.

“See?” said Jared, “A round of applause, a request for an autograph and a free delicious sandwich: I told you I’d fix whatever’s going on.” Jared smiled at the girl, “Thanks for the sandwich.” He sort of pushed Chad out the door and said, “I’d spring for a cab for the man of the hour but the sandwich wiped out my funds.” 

They walked through the busy, cold streets quickly. They were silent and Chad guessed Jared was afraid of him crying in front of strangers again. Upstairs Jared unlocked all four of their locks and headed straight to the kitchen. “Don’t eat the delicious sandwich. Have it for a snack later. I’m making you something special.” 

Chad followed him and said, “Like what?” 

“Hawaiian eggs Benedict.”

“I love that,” said Chad.

“I know.” Jared started to get things out of the fridge. Chad pushed himself up onto the counter and Jared asked, “So what happened?” 

“Kenzie dumped me. I mean that’s only the first thing that went wrong. But still.” 

“What? What the hell happened?” 

“She started talking about dress shopping and I told her I only got a pair of tickets. And she was like, ‘Yeah and?’ And I tried to be gentle when I said I was taking Dad but she got real pissed, real fast.” 

Jared sighed, “I’m sorry, man, I know you liked her. This is why I advised against dating a freshman, she’s barely eighteen and shallow as hell.” Jared set out to make a spicy version of hollandaise sauce and put water on to boil. “Anyone who doesn’t get why you’re bringing your dad is stupid.”

“It sucks, but I mean that’s not the biggest problem.” Chad’s phone started to ring and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Speak of the devil.” He held out his phone to Jared. “This number won’t stop calling and I don’t want to talk to her.” 

Jared tilted his head to look at the display, “Who do you know in Ohio?” 

“No one, man, no fucking one,” he couldn’t quite keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Jared took it away and answered it, “This is the man of the hour’s phone. He doesn’t want to talk to you. You’re making him distressed. This is his day so why don’t you stop calling before I go ahead and block the number?” He listened for a second then he gave Chad a sad look, “No, you’re not his mother. His mother walked out on her husband and six kids twelve years ago. She didn’t even come to his high school graduation after he wrote to her. And I don’t think that even his mother, terrible person though she is, would abandon her child and then be tacky enough to call him when he had a brush with fame. So why don’t you fuck off and die? Do not call here again.” He snapped the phone shut. “Oh, Chad, I’m so sorry.”

Chad tried hard not to lose it again. “I find out that I’ve been fucking nominated for a fucking Oscar and I’m, like, fucking over the moon, man. Seriously. And then my girlfriend informs me that if I take Dad and not her we’re over. And I’m like, ‘Fine, whatever, if you don’t get that then I don’t want to be with you.’ So she, like, leaves, taking her stuff and whatever. But, like, fuck it: I’m nominated for a fucking Oscar. Y’know? And I call Dad and he’s totally flipping out. And he’s just screaming and excited and awesome. And I get calls from my brothers and sister. They’re all flipping out and my sister is going to come visit us this weekend, Rex is driving, to bake us a banana pudding cake. And I’m just happy, y’know? Fuck Kenzie, we’ve been dating for three months.”

Jared nodded, taking the hollandaise sauce off the heat, “Your family is awesome.”

“Yeah, they are. And then our friends are calling and it’s awesome. Mike called, Elisha called. I knew you were going to cook me something awesome. And your parents called and Paris’ called. And I’m fucking flying man. Why have you stopped cooking?”

“Because the rest of this meal takes precise timing and I think you need a hug.”

“You are so gay,” said Chad but he leaned forward and hugged Jared. Jared stroked his back and Chad was glad his two best friends were gay because straight guys never hugged and, despite being straight, he liked hugging and Jared and Mike hugged a lot. 

“I’m so sorry, Chad, I’m sorry.”

He was really trying to keep it together but Jared stroked his hair and he fought tears, “I didn’t know who was calling me from Ohio. And she says, ‘Chad, honey, I always knew you’d make something of yourself.’ And I don’t know who it is, how would I know? I haven’t heard her voice since I was ten. And I ask who it is and she says, ‘Mom.’ It’s a vaguely New York accent so I thought, ‘Who calls themselves Mom and has a New York accent?’ so I go, ‘Ohmigod, Mrs. Rosenbaum, thank you so much!’ And then she was like, ‘No, honey, your mom.’ So then I got caught in a loop of just saying, ‘oh’ over and over again. Then I finally said, ‘I have no interest in talking to you today or any other day.’ Then I hung up and now she won’t stop calling.” Jared just kept hugging him. “Twelve fucking years, Jay!” 

“I’m so sorry, Chad, your dad is such an amazing man and she lost out on so much when she left. She lost, not you. You were with your awesome dad. I’m sorry that she decided that she wanted to talk to you because you’re famous. It’s really, honestly, completely her loss.” 

“I know.” He nodded. “I know.”

“Also? You reek. Seriously, man, you smell. You went out in public, people clapped for you and you gave an autograph all while reeking.”

Chad started to laugh and pulled back. Sniffing himself he said “Kenzi and I had, like, three rounds of celebration sex before she dumped me.”

Jared laughed, “Okay, fuck your mother. She’s nothing. Go shower. By the time you’re dressed I’ll have blocked her from calling, have made you an amazing lunch and have cued up an Oscar nominated film for us to watch. You have class at five today, right?” Chad nodded, “We’ve got plenty of time. Go on and shower.”

“I’ll be a while. I’m gonna take a little me time,” he said, sniffing tears back that had never quite found their way out. 

“Dude, I do not need to know that you’re going to jerk off.” 

“You’re the one who was talking about precise timing.”

Jared thought and then said, “Valid point.”

Chad enjoyed his shower; he scrubbed himself fast but took his time jerking off. He rolled his neck and hummed the Star Wars theme tune, feeling his spirits rise. He was nominated for a fucking Oscar. He walked through the living room to his bedroom and it smelled amazing, like butter and frying. He dressed in clean jeans and a t-shirt he’d made back when he took screen printing that said “I’m Incognito.”

Jared called, “Come into the kitchen.” Chad did and saw that Jared was spooning sauce over his creation. It was a toasted English muffin split in half with a slice of fried Spam on top of each one with a poached egg perched on top of each half with shrimp and pineapple that had been fried together to become crispy, sweet and — as Jared put it — caramelized piled on top. Looking at it and the sauce Jared was applying liberally made Chad’s mouth water. He moved away from the plate but as Chad went for it Jared said, “Hold up, one more thing.”

“Dude, seriously? I’m starving and I wasn’t allowed to eat my sandwich,” Chad whined.

Jared rolled his eyes as he leaned into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “Chill out. I just need you to open this. You’ve got a while before class so we’re having a celebratory drink.”

“Oh, well, that’s okay,” said Chad. He popped the cork with adroit fingers as Jared got out two jam jars glasses for them. They were Welch’s jars that Jared had inherited from his brother. 

Jared lifted his glass and said, “Congratulations, Chad, the Academy thinks you’re as awesome as you have always proclaimed yourself to be.” 

Chad laughed, “Shut up, dude, I’m awesome.”

Jared nodded, “The Academy agrees.” They clinked jars and took long sips, “Now you can eat.” Jared grabbed his left over sandwich and they went into the other room where the TV showed the first shot of his movie, paused. 

“Where’s my phone?” asked Chad.

“I blocked the number but it can take up to an hour for it to kick in so I’ve silenced it and will be screening your calls for you.”

“Thanks.” They settled into the couch, both eating and drinking champagne. Jared hit play and it started, quiet on a suburban street, the sun was up but it was clearly still early in the morning. A teenager on a bike was throwing newspapers close to people’s doors. Chad had already forgotten all of the actor’s names but he was glad that they were good. Music was playing in the background. A happy soft song. 

He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. It wasn’t cold enough, even early in the day, for a jacket. “6:22 AM” flashed in the corner of the screen. The kid went through the streets and it was just views of a small town. Then it cut to a shabby little office where the kid got handed some ten dollar bills held together with a paperclip. 

Then it was just views of a tiny, quiet suburb again as the kid peddled to school and clipped his bike into a rack outside of Chad’s old high school. The music was all locally sourced. He’d asked his younger brothers to ask around school for every single band to send him a tape. He couldn’t afford to pay anyone and he needed music. They got to be in a movie and he got to not have silence. 

“7:08 AM” flashed up as the kid unhooked his backpack from where it was hooked over the handlebars and walked through the school’s front door with other kids joining him. The school’s bell went off and it cut to different scenes of the town: little kids eating breakfast still in their PJs, people buying doughnuts, a supermarket, an office building’s parking lot getting steadily fuller, older people reading their newspapers on back porches. 

It had been hell to pull off. He’d had a million people sign a million wavers, gotten permission from so many buildings, and companies and stores just by smiling, ducking his head and using his dad’s name. He’d never been “Chad Michael Murray Burgeoning Movie Maker” to get people involved. He’d been “Rex’s Boy,” the kid who had delivered their papers and smiled on the street. And, somehow, his movie had gotten made. 

He knew he was biased but he loved his fucking movie. It made him happy and nostalgic all at once. It was just a movie about Chad’s hometown, a tiny suburb outside of Buffalo sitting right on Lake Erie. His professor had asked them to write a love letter to a place, anywhere in the world in under an hour. She set it as their final project for last school year. It was supposed to evoke a feeling of joy and pleasure. 

Chad had taken the school provided budget of six hundred dollars and all the free shooting supplies they could need, and immediately headed home with four kids from the acting program who worked for class credit and Mike. He’d planned it out shot for shot, angle for angle, line for line. He’d obsessed over lighting and framing and making sure it looked incredible, and real and perfect. He’d planned it down to the last tiny detail and it had paid off.

He’d been so thrilled with it. And then, in class, he’d been shocked. People had taken the money to build tiny little sets of Paris that they had populated with puppets that spoke French with subtitles. People had made walking journals of New York City. There were movies set in LA and one with an elaborate, impressionist set designed to look like Rome with actors speaking Italian. Chad had watched them with a sinking feeling of doom. Even though he liked his film a hell of a lot more than their pretentious drivel he felt certain he was going to fail. 

He got an A and the professor encouraged him to enter it into film festivals saying, “It’s incredible. You have more talent than anyone else in the class. You’re the only person who made me fall in love with their location: I would love to go there.”

He smiled and pointed west, “It’s about five hours that way.” 

He’d submitted it to seventeen different film festivals. It had cost him over two grand but it had been accepted by every single one. He’d financed his submissions by begging every store back home to let him set up a display with DVDs and a sign saying, “Chad Murray made a movie! You were all in it! Buy a copy for two bucks; remember the adventure; help Chad pay for film festival consideration!” He’d made about two thousand dollars in profit, after the cost of the DVDs, and he’d pretty much broken even. 

He’d gotten honorary mentions and a couple of certificates from juries and critics telling him that it wasn’t just him who thought it was great. He’d been elated, never expecting it to go beyond that: he thought it would be awesome to have it on his résumé next year. 

He watched as younger kids got dropped off at the middle and lower schools as the time read “8:13 AM.” Then it was just shots of the streets again, mothers with preschool aged kids in stores, old guys in front of the corner store talking while drinking coffee, some guys on top of an office building taking a smoke break. All the time good local music was playing. Then the time came up on a totally black screen: “2:09 PM.” It was back at high school, the bell rang and kids started coming out, not in a huge crushing mass but steadily. It was far more realistic than movies where the kids were apparently waiting behind the door for the bell. 

The kid was walking with two guys, one blond and a redhead, and a girl, talking and the first clearly spoken line was, “Yeah, I’ll totally come out: it’s Friday.” He went toward his bike and so did the girl.

“Time should I pick you up?” asked the redhead.

“Like, five forty-five?” he shrugged. 

“That’s specific,” the guy said.

The kid laughed and said, “Bite me. After five thirty and before six. I gotta go to work.”

The girl said, “I’ll come with you: I want a doughnut.” 

“Later,” called the blond who hadn’t spoken. The two guys went off toward the parking lot while the main kid and the girl unlocked their bikes. 

They started biking, his bag was over the handlebars while she wore hers. “Lucas, how can you balance with that on there?” she said, nodding to his bag.

And the boy, now identified as Lucas, said, “How can you ride while wearing yours?” 

When Chad had written the line he’d thought it was obvious, he’d always ridden his bike with his bag slung over the handles. People had asked him how he did it and he’d never really thought about it. But when the actor had first been trying to do it he’d kept losing his balance and almost falling. Chad had ended up having to teach him. 

And while they were talking it was still all about the scenery, the shot, a feeling of early summer in a small town. She shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s too hot for it, that’s for sure. My back is going to get too sweaty.” 

“Less than a month ago you were whining about the cold. It’s barely June. What are you going to say in August?”

“Oh, I’m not getting out of the lake in August,” she said with a laugh.

They stopped in front of the doughnut store. The girl propped her bike against the wall and took a chain from her bag to lock the wheels. Inside, Lucas left his bike in a corner and smiled at the guy behind the counter, “Hey I’m here.” He ducked under the counter. 

It had taken Chad three hours of begging Don to get him to agree to let Chad use the store. And, after being so difficult, he’d asked if he could be in the movie. He’d said he couldn’t act but wanted to be in it and Chad said, “Can’t you just pretend you’re talking to me? That’s all it really is. You won’t be saying anything weird; you’ll be talking to the latest dumbass to work here.” Don had agreed saying they could shut the store down for a total of four hours spread out over a couple of days between the lunch rush and the kids coming in after school.

Don looked natural on film as he smiled at the girl. “Hey, Julie, how are you?”

“Good, thanks. You?” 

“Good.” He turned to the boy and said, “No free food.”

Lucas nodded, “I know.”

“I gotta go to the bank, the supermarket and take the dog for a walk.”

“Cool,” Lucas nodded.

“Don’t burn the place down,” said Don.

Lucas rolled his eyes as he tied on an apron, “Go, I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” 

“No free food,” Don repeated as he walked out. 

Once he was gone Lucas turned to Julie, “Want a free doughnut?” She laughed and he got her a cruller. 

“Thanks,” she said with a smile. 

He sighed, “I gotta get to work.”

“Sure, I’ll see you around five forty-five.” She waved over her shoulder as she left, eating her cruller. After she was gone Lucas put a dollar into the cash register. Then it was just people coming and going, getting coffee and doughnuts. It was another scene with local music and Chad liked everything he’d picked out. No one ordered a smoothie which was unrealistic but Don had forbid the actor playing Lucas from touching the blenders. 

The customers were just people from town. Don had stood outside saying, “Chad Murray is paying for doughnuts. All you have to do is sign a waiver to be in his movie and don’t look at the camera.” He’d handed money to everyone who walked in, money Chad had given him before hand. And after all the begging Chad had done, it actually had taken under an hour to get the five minutes he wanted. 

Don came back into the store and the clock at the bottom said “4:13 PM.” A few people with little kids were at the table, eating afternoon snacks.

“Problems?” asked Don.

“Oh, yeah, there was a run on jelly filled, someone got bludgeoned to death. It was awful,” said Lucas as Don ducked under the counter.

Don went to the cash register and said, “Did you give Julie free food?”

“Only if she asks you. Otherwise, no.”

“Have you considered asking her out instead of secretly buying her doughnuts?”

“She might say no,” said Lucas. “Do you need help this weekend?” 

“Nah, I got the tall kid,” he snapped his fingers.

“Jared,” offered Lucas. 

On the couch Jared nudged him, “I love that you wrote me in. I’m mentioned in an Oscar nominated film.”

“You’re welcome,” said Chad with a smile. He put aside his plate as Mike opened the door. Mike dropped his bag and just stared at him. “Mike, you okay?” Jared paused the movie.

“Holy shit!” Mike shouted sounding shocked. “Jared, did you know we have an Oscar nominee on our couch? How can we have such an illustrious person on our couch where — only three days ago — our dumbass roommate, the Chadinator, spilled a lot of beer?”

Chad stood, “It’s not sticky anymore.” 

Mike hugged him and picked him up, “I’m so fucking proud, man.” He kissed Chad’s cheek. “What are we doing?” 

“Drinking champagne and watching 6:22-12:04,” said Jared, “Get a glass and join us.” 

“We got class at five, Chad, but I’m pretty sure people are going to be cheering for you and you can turn up tipsy,” said Mike. He put Chad down and then asked, “You’re not working at the hospital tonight, right?” 

“No,” Chad shook his head and killed his champagne. “I want my sandwich now. I got a free sandwich for being almost famous. I’ll get you a glass.”

“Dude,” Mike said, clearly speaking to Jared, “an Oscar nominee is getting me a glass.” 

Chad smiled to himself, grateful for having wonderful friends. He brought back the glass and his sandwich. They settled back in and Jared said, “Do you want me to go back to the beginning, Mike?”

“I’ve seen it dozens of times and helped shoot it. I think I can pick up where we are,” Mike pulled a candy bar out of his bag before dropping down onto the couch and pouring himself a glass of champagne. He held it up saying, “To our Chad, may he soon be a household name and a synonym for the word awesome.”

“To Chad,” repeated Jared. 

They settled in and Jared hit play. Chad took a bite of his sandwich and totally got why Jared would blow a ton of money on one: it was fantastic. 

On screen Don held out money to Lucas and said, “See you next week.”

Lucas added the money to the paperclip with his wages from his paper route, “Have a good weekend.”

He took off his apron and hung it up before ducking under the counter. He grabbed his bike from the corner and waved over his shoulder. He rode out of town, through streets that were busy up over the hill that looked over the town on one side and down to Lake Erie on the other. It wasn’t really the way to Chad’s house but Chad thought he cut it really well so you couldn’t tell. The same song that had been playing in the doughnut shop was playing as he rode. Then Lucas propped his bike against the front porch and the clock said “4:47 PM.” 

Chad hadn’t had to beg his dad to be in the movie. His dad had just studied him for a minute and said, “So, what do I have to say?”

“Nothing you haven’t said to me, Ty or Rex. It will take under two hours. I promise. Rex can take Mike’s car to town with Brandon, Nicky and Shannon. I promise.” He’d been worried — as the cast were going to be crashing at the house — that he was asking too much. 

But his dad said, “Will you shoot me from my good side?”

“You’re too pretty to have a bad side,” he said. 

So, as Lucas went into the house and called, “Yo, I’m home.” it was Chad’s dad who called, “Kitchen, bro.”

Lucas walked to it saying, “Do you know how lame you sound when you say ‘bro?’” 

“Do you know how lame it is to greet your dad with ‘yo?’” asked his dad who was sorting through mail. “How was school?” 

“Fine.” Lucas dropped his bad on the table and went to the refrigerator. He peered into it.

His dad said, “Work?”

“Fine.” 

“Paper route?” 

“Fine.”

“Wow, Lucas, three ‘fines,’” said his dad without looking up.

Lucas pulled a pitcher of Hawaiian Punch out of the fridge. It wasn’t labeled but Chad knew what lived in his dad’s fridge and knew it was Hawaiian Punch. “Ask an interesting question and you will get an interesting response.” Lucas shrugged as he got a glass.

“How was the English test?” 

“Easier than I expected it to be. I sailed through it. There was one I didn’t know but nothing else was a guess so I got something in the nineties.” 

“Good. Did you like the book?”

“Leaves of Grass? No, I think it’s boring as hell. I don’t like poetry. But I got a good grade and I needed that so I don’t really care. How was your work? Anything interesting? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I took an early lunch so I could have dinner with you. I know it’s really early for dinner but I’m going to have to go back. Grilled cheese okay?” Lucas nodded. “Kara had her baby so we are seriously shorthanded. I won’t be home until 10 tomorrow morning.” 

“That sucks,” said Lucas, sipping his drink and putting the rest in the fridge. The actor didn’t like Hawaiian Punch but had manned up because he was, after all, an actor.

“It does, still, can’t begrudge a woman having a baby. You going out tonight?” 

“Yeah, they’re coming to pick me up later.” 

His dad started to get things out of the fridge, American cheese, misshapen tomatoes, an onion and some cooked bacon. “Run me through your catechism.”

“Seriously?” asked Lucas.

“Do it,” said his dad and it made Chad smile. He loved his father’s catechism and it made him feel warm insider — after his mother and Kenzie had screwed up his day — to see his father and hear words he knew so well. His dad walked over and leaned against the counter so that he was next to Lucas and could keep eye contact.

“I am an intelligent and bright young man. But I am seventeen and therefore a moron. When I think something is a good idea I should remind myself that I am seventeen and therefore a moron. I should ask myself the following questions: is this illegal, how illegal is it, is it dangerous, am I doing it because I want or because everyone’s doing it, if I get caught will it appear on a record as a youthful indiscretion or as something that could keep me out of Oberlin, will Grandma be ashamed of me, can you afford bail. After answering the questions I should weigh the pros and cons and make a decision. I’m seventeen and am going to do stupid things but I need to be conscious of my own stupidity. And no matter what I do, or how stupid and illegal it is, I shouldn’t hesitate to call you if I get out of my depth and need help because being grounded, being screamed at, is better than getting killed, arrested or in hospital because a friend decided to drive drunk or someone dared me to climb a house. All I need to do is call you and ask if you could put my jersey in the washing machine and you will be there in a matter of minutes. And I have to be home by midnight as, at 12:01 precisely, you will call here to make sure I made curfew.” 

His dad reached out and patted the kid’s cheek and said, “Good boy.” His dad started to put together the sandwiches deftly, having made them a hundred times.

“So, anything exciting happen to you today?” asked Lucas.

“Not, really, it was a nice day. Everyone was talking about their kid’s plans for prom. You ask Julie yet?” He put butter in a pan and put the pan on the stove.

“I’m still working up the nerve.”

“Bro, you’ve been working up the nerve for two years.”

Lucas rolled his eyes, “Don’t call me ‘bro.’ And it hasn’t been two years. It’s been, like, a year and a half.”

“Lucas,” his dad sounded exasperated.

“Yeah?”

“Get it together, bro. Just ask. It’s your junior prom. Do you want to go alone?”

“No,” Lucas shook his head. “I’ll work on it.”

His dad put the sandwiches into the pan and said, “So, it was pay day. What are you saving up for now?”

“A laptop. I’d like to stop using yours. I think I’m about two months off of goal.”

“Awesome.” He turned the pan on the heat. “Are you going to use it for school or just Youtube?”

“I might use it for some school,” said Lucas slowly, like he was really considering it which made his dad laugh.

They slipped into silence and Lucas started going through his bag, pulling out books as his dad flipped the sandwiches. “A lot of work this weekend?”

“It’s like they don’t want us to have lives,” he agreed. He looked out the back window and there was the view. The beautiful, stunning view that Chad had always loved and missed when he was in the city. The whole lake stretched out in front of him. “And I just want to swim.”

“It’s still way too cold for that,” said his dad. “So what are you guys doing tonight?”

“I don’t know yet, drive around, try and find a party… Maybe get up the courage to ask Julie to the prom. The usual. Do you want a drink?”

“Yeah, a glass of juice would be good. Thanks.”

Lucas went to the fridge and grabbed the jug of Hawaiian Punch, a tub of coleslaw and a jar of pickles. “Did Kara have a boy or girl?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if she’s out of labor yet.” Lucas got plates and forks and started to serve coleslaw and pickles. He poured the Hawaiian Punch and put everything back in the fridge. “Plates, please.” Lucas brought them over as he dad pulled the sandwiches out of the pan. He cut them on the plates holding them down gingerly with the tips of his fingers saying, “Hot, hot, hot!” 

“Thanks, Dad. They smell really good,” they moved to the table. 

His dad said, “So what kind of laptop do you want?” before it cut to black.

Chad thought that his dad and Don were proof that no one needed to study how to act. They said their lines and just appeared natural. All they did was pretend that they knew Lucas. If it were a monster movie, or something, maybe it would have been hard but all they were doing was just pretending that this was normal. It wasn’t a fucking science. 

It cut to Lucas in the bathroom. Chad had had to clear all the toiletries out because it was a clear giveaway that more than two people lived in the house. Plus he’d been standing in the bathtub to make sure he wasn’t visible in the mirror. The time at the bottom said, “5:37 PM.” He was brushing his teeth. There was a knock at the door. “I gotta go back to work,” his dad called through the door. 

Lucas opened the door and spoke around his toothbrush, “Have a good night, Dad. I’ll make waffles in the morning.”

“Thanks, Lucas, have a good night.”

His dad shut the door and Lucas turned back to the mirror. He spat and rinsed. He started to pull at his hair and as he got his gel he said, “You are going to ask her out tonight.”

“That’s my boy!” he dad shouted through the door.

“Dad, go to work!” Lucas shouted.

Then the screen went black and the clock said, “5:51 PM.” Then Lucas was locking the door and waving at an SUV as it pulled up.

“Is this an appropriate time?” asked the redheaded guy leaned out the driver side window. 

“Shut up, and yes, now is a very appropriate time.” He was wearing a different shirt and his hair was perfectly gelled. He slid into the back of the car. The blond guy and Julie were already in the SUV. They were all dressed more casually but nicer, the way kids did. It was stuff they thought they looked great in but would never wear to school. Julie was in cut off jean short shorts, tennis shoes and a thin pale pink tank top. It was supposed to be cute, sexy but innocently so. 

As they started to pull away a song came on the radio and the blond kid, “Oh, yes, turn it up!” 

When Chad had first told them the scene and told them to memorize the song the blond guy had been nervous and said, “I can’t hit a note.”

Chad had shaken his head, “You don’t have to, you’re in a car with your three closest friends and your favorite song just came on. You don’t need to hit the notes you just need to shout along.” 

They did, it was some band made up of Rex’s friends. Chad liked the song. Jared started sing along next to him on the couch. Jared couldn’t sing any better than the blond guy but he was just as enthusiastic. As they drove the camera kept panning to the windows, showing the woods around Chad’s house in the afternoon sun and then town, starting to get quiet again as the clock edged into the evening. 

There was a montage of them trying to get booze and striking out again and again. Each time the clock showed more time going by. People said, “I know your mother.” and, “Seriously, you’re not twenty-one and you didn’t forget your ID.” and more things that people had said to Chad and his friends when they tried to score booze. To actually get alcohol you had to either get someone’s older sibling to get it or drive into Buffalo and no one ever wanted to do that. 

“I give up,” said Lucas, moving to sit on the hood of the SUV as the clock said “7:42 PM.”

“I hear Mike might be having a party,” said the redhead. “His parents are in New York City this weekend.”

“Thank you,” Mike said to Chad as he sipped his champagne.

“You’re welcome,” said Chad.

Julie had he hands in her pockets and said, “Yeah, sounds good. It’s way too early though.” She checked her watch. “It’s not going to start for a least an hour and a half.”

It was still light and kids were playing out in the street, pulling hockey nets off to the side as the car drove by. As they drove they sang along with more music from Chad’s brother’s friends. “Let’s have a fire at the beach,” said Lucas. “We can do it behind my house, listen to some music and just chill out.”

“Yes!” said Julie. “That’ll be fun.”

“Agreed,” said the blond. “We need snacks,” he added.

“Dinner, I haven’t eaten yet,” said Julie. “Have you guys?”

“No,” said both the guys.

Lucas nodded, “With Dad.”

“Is he home?” asked the blond. “Because if he’s at work-”

“We are not having a party at my house,” said Lucas. “No way. Mike’s parents are gone until Sunday night. My dad will be home at ten AM. We’re not having a party. We’re having a bonfire.”

They cruised into town and parked at the big lot across from the supermarket. Inside they meandered around grabbing hotdogs, pitas, cream cheese, a couple of liters of soda and a couple of cans of cherry pie filling. Chad had been careful to make sure that nothing was a name brand, these kids would never buy brand name, kids who jobs for a little money never buy name brand with that cash. At the checkout they all fished bills out of their pockets to help fund their venture. “You going to a beach party?” asked Sherry at the checkout.

“Nah, just a fire pit,” said Lucas. “At my house.”

“Your dad home?” she asked with a small smirk, the same smirk she used to give Chad when he’d been in Lucas’ position. Sherry was yet more proof that acting lessons were unnecessary.

“It’s not a party,” Lucas stressed. “If it was a party I wouldn’t tell someone who was going to tell my dad, now would I?” They collected their stuff and Lucas said, “Have a good night.”

In the car they bopped along to more music and there were more long, lingering shots out the window. Chad had worked on the shots carefully. There wasn’t much special about Chad’s town. It was just a normal, rural town. But Chad loved it and wanted the viewer to love it. He’d picked the shots, the gels on the lens, every detail to make it beautiful, to make it feel like an early summer evening. In reality it had been late March and still cool. Chad had felt a little badly about the girl wearing a tank top and short shorts but she’d been a trooper and had done it all with a smile.

Back at home they parked out front and went around the house. The woods around Chad’s house were gorgeous and he hadn’t really had to use tricks to make it look good. His house was kind of isolated, outside of town. It was bigger, more beautiful, than they could have ever afforded but his great grandparents had left it to his dad without a mortgage. It was a big arts and crafts house from nineteen-thirteen. They’d moved in when Chad was four, Ty was six and his mom was pregnant with Rex. He didn’t remember where they’d lived before moving home.

They followed Lucas like they’d done it dozens of times. Out back, behind their deck was the lake. Chad had taken it for granted when he was little that his backyard was a beach. He hadn’t realized how incredible it was that he lived in a six bedroom house with a beach out back. There was the fire pit; his dad had dug it when he’d been little. They’d never had vacations. There wasn’t money for it. But most nights in the summer they’d had a fire out in the pit with marshmallows and fire pies.

When Shannon and Nicky had heard that they were having a fire they’d both tried to argue their way into the film. They were bored hanging out in the upstairs living room. Chad had said no but had promised that they could come hang out once they were done shooting. Shannon had said that they could be Lucas’ younger siblings. Chad had said, “Lucas is an only child.” She had laughed and said, “Lucas is obviously you. And you always let us hang out when you had a fire. The only difference between you and Lucas is that he has more friends than you ever did in high school.” Chad had stood by his decision.

Lucas on the other hand had argued that he felt his character would own an iPod not a generic MP3 player that he was currently plugging into Chad’s old boom box on screen. Chad had shaken his head and said, “iPods are expensive. He’s saving up for a laptop. You can buy a cheap MP3 player for twenty-five bucks in Best Buy.” Lucas had also asked why the characters ate so much “poor people food.” Chad guessed he meant fire pies, sandwiches made with Kraft cheese, coleslaw that came in big tubs and Hawaiian Punch. And he had frowned and said, “I’m paying for your food, you’re staying in my house, my dad cooked you a sandwich. You’re getting class credit for spending a week of spring break by a beautiful lake surrounded by nice people. You’re a second semester freshman who was picked as the lead for an advanced class’ final project. So, why don’t you stop passing comments and judgments and just eat the food?” 

And who the fuck was this guy to judge the staples of Chad’s childhood diet? The diet his family still ate happily. The diet Chad still liked. When Chad got sick and wanted comfort food Jared had tried to make him a Spam and ramen stir-fry but it had sucked because he’d tried to make it fancy with asparagus. Chad didn’t really like Lucas but he could pass for seventeen and was the best that’d auditioned. Fuck him; Chad couldn’t even remember his real name. 

The clock at the bottom flashed up with “8:17 PM” as Lucas started the music and the boys started to pile up cut wood into the fire pit. The sun was beginning to go red, sinking in the sky. The water looked like it was on fire. Julie said, “I don’t have to help with this because I’m a girl. Lucas, can I borrow your bathroom? I want to change into my suit.”

“You have a swimsuit on you?” asked the redhead.

“It’s June. From now until October I will have a swimsuit on me.” She took a bikini out of her purse. 

“I think it’s too cold,” said Lucas.

“No, it’s never too cold, unless it’s icy.” 

Lucas said, “Yeah, I’ll let you in and grab what we need out here.” He pulled his keys from his pocket and went up the back porch’s stairs. Inside he turned on the lights and said, “It’s that one.” He pointed to the door. The house was an open plan, no corridors downstairs, just rooms that flowed into each other. Only his dad’s bedroom and the bathroom were fully blocked off. “There are beach towels in the closet in there.”

“Thanks,” she said. He grabbed sugar, spreadable butter, ketchup, and an onion which he cut up. And from the drawers he got four super long toasting forks, a couple of knives, a can opener and tinfoil. He balanced it all carefully in his arms. Back outside the guys were using long lighters to get the fire going. He shut the door.

As he went to them the blond guy said, “Have you asked her yet?”

“No, not yet,” he shrugged. 

“Loser,” said the redhead. 

“Shut up,” said Lucas. They cut pita pockets and filled them with pie filling and cream cheese, spread them thinly with butter on the outside, sprinkled them with sugar and wrapped them in tin foil. They put them along the edge of the pit, where they would toast slowly. Lucas put the onions in a tinfoil basket and put them next to the fire to caramelize. 

Julie came out in a baby blue bikini with a ratty beach towel wrapped around her waist. Chad had thought about it being red because it would look great at sunset but he’d also wanted it to be innocent. Good girls don’t have red bikinis because good girls have good parents who refuse to let their daughters buy them. It had been sixty degrees that night and Chad had apologized. 

“You’re going to freeze,” said Lucas.

She rolled her eyes, “It’s still in the eighties even though the sun is almost down.” Chad had told her to go as deep as she could bear it but not to kill herself. It was March for God’s sake, there was no way she could swim in it. One time Ty had dared Chad to swim in it and dunk his head under the water in February, his dad had been furious and Chad had almost had to go to the hospital. His dad had screamed at Ty for daring his brother and screamed at Chad for taking the dare. So Chad’d been really impressed by how deep she got. She dropped the towel and stepped in. “Oh, that’s cold.” She took another step and hissed.

“No one likes a hero,” said the blond guy.

She gave a pained laugh, “Shut up, it’s fine.” She took baby steps, making pained noises all the time, until she was almost up to her crotch and then shouted, “Fuck this!”

Chad had called, “Stop,” and said, “I’m sorry. You can’t swear. This movie is about innocence.”

She nodded, “Sorry. It’s so fucking cold I’ve forgotten the line.”

“Say ‘forget this,’ Ready?” She’d nodded. “Go,” said Chad because he’d never wanted to be a director and didn’t want to say “action.”

She made a pained face that Chad knew wasn’t acting. “Forget this!” she shouted. And wadded her way back out as the guys laughed and clapped. “Shut up, I hate you all!” She grabbed the towel and wrapped it firmly around her waist. 

“Come sit close to the fire and have a hotdog,” Lucas patted the sand next to him and she dropped down. “I told you not to,” he reminded her.

“Shut up,” she said as they got forks and started to cook their hotdogs. They sang along with the music and danced in the sand. The clock in the corner sped up, as they danced. Time flies, it’s true. As the clock hit “8:49 PM” the sun finally dipped below the horizon. They put the pies closer to the pit and kept dancing, now in the moonlight. After a while the blond guy sank down into the sand and the clock said, “9:27 PM.” He brushed his hands off on his jeans before he reached for one of the pies. He tossed it from hand to hand as it was hot. He unwrapped it and said, “Pies are ready.” Julie pulled her hair up casually into a ponytail as she sank into the sand. 

Chad had warned them that the pies may or may not have been an acquired taste. He’d grown up on them and thought they were divine but he wasn’t sure if they were to outsiders. But all four of the actors had loved them. They laughed and Lucas was staring out at the lake. “I can’t wait for school to be over.”

“It’s beautiful out here tonight,” said Julie. 

The music rose as they laughed around the fire and wet back to dancing. As they danced in the moonlight the clock said, “10:15 PM.”

Lucas said, “If we want to hit this party and make it home in time for curfew we should think about making a move.”

“But I’m really good here,” said the blond. “I’m considering having another hot dog.”

“There’s never a party,” said the redhead. “I think if there is a party we are honor bound to go.”

“You’ve kind of got a point,” said the blond guy. 

“I’m going to go put on clothes,” said Julie standing. “This isn’t a fashion statement.”

As she walked into the house and shut the door behind herself Chad said, “Okay, that’s all we need tonight.”

Lucas had said, “Aren’t I supposed to douse the fire?”

“Yeah, we need to reshoot this tomorrow, just to make sure we got it. But then we won’t have her go into the water, because that would be mean, and you will put out the fire. It’ll have to be a case of one and done because tonight I promised my siblings pies.” He prepared pies, six in all and placed them right into the dying fire. “Mike, can you scream for the kids, please?”

Mike had gone up the back steps and shouted in through the door, “Yo, kiddos, there are pies cooking for you, come chill out with us.” 

Chad rolled his eyes. “I didn’t actually want you to scream for them.”

“Whatever, man, they’re coming,” Mike started to pack up the camera he was holding. “One of those pies had better be for me.”

“It’s totally for you,” Chad said. To the actors he said, “You guys can chill out here or go chill out somewhere else, whatever you want. No pressure.” 

The blond guy said, “I need to learn the songs for the car scenes.”

“Yeah,” said Lucas, “I’ll study them with you.”

They stood and the redhead said, “I know my lines so is it cool if I just hang with you guys?”

“Totally,” said Mike before Chad had a chance to say anything, “the more the merrier.” 

Shannon, Nicky and Brandon came out and sat around the fire, “Let’s build it up again,” Chad poked the pies around to make sure they wouldn’t be in the flames as he added, “Where’s Rex-a-Roni?”

“He went to get milk,” said Nicky, “he said I was provisionally in charge but that if there was a fire or blood I should interrupt you.”

“Good rule,” Chad nodded as he put more wood on the fire and poked it to get it going. “Dad got off to work okay?”

“Yeah, he’ll be home at two,” said Shannon. “Can we watch Alien?”

“No,” said Chad. “You have an hour before bed and it’s a school night. You cannot be up all night with nightmares and spooking each other out,” he said.

“But, Chad-” Brandon started to whine.

“Look, next week we’ll all be on spring break. We’re going to finish shooting the movie this weekend and then Jared, Elisha and Paris because their break starts next week too. You won’t have school, we won’t have any guest and we can watch as many terrifying movies as you like.” 

“You’re no fun,” said Brandon.

Nicky said, “I told them no, Rex told them no and they didn’t ask Dad, because they knew what he would have said.”

“No,” said Chad.”Did you guys finish your homework?” 

All three of them nodded. Then Rex stuck his head out the back door and said, “Nicky, I told you not to let them out here.”

“Chad’s not filming and he invited us out for pie,” said Nicky.

“Pie?” asked Rex hopefully. 

“I put one in there for you,” Chad assured him. “Come sit. We’re arguing about the movie Alien.”

“I already said no,” said Rex. “I went out for milk. How long did you think I would be gone?”

“Chad’s older,” said Brandon.

Rex shook his head. “I’m going to put the milk in the fridge. We’re not watching Alien during the school week.” He moved out of the way to let Julie pass him. She was now in sweats and sneakers and a hoodie. Then he shut the door behind her. 

“I’m sorry I made you get in the water,” said Chad. “I didn’t really think about it when I wrote it.”

She waved him off, “I’m suffering for art. Don’t worry.” 

Rex came out with plastic glasses and the jug of punch. “How’s the filming going?”

“Good. Tomorrow we have the opening scene of the paper route and we have to do this scene again. Oh, do you know someone in town who wouldn’t mind us shooting on their lawn at night? I just need a front door and a lawn in town. But I will be using lights so it’s a bit inconvenient for whoever lives there.” 

Rex shrugged, “I’ll ask around tomorrow. Rich Kabber’s family is going to Manhattan for the weekend. They’re leaving right after school. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. They always leave lights on to stop burglars so it won’t look empty.” 

“Awesome. Ask nicely and give him my cell phone number so his mom or dad can call me.”

“I always ask nicely,” said Rex. “Who wants juice? Can I just go ahead and pour for everyone?”

“No, thanks,” said the redhead. “It’s not really my thing.”

“Fair enough,” said Rex. “You want anything?”

“I would love some milk. That delicious pie calls for milk over cola. I can help myself. You’ve been in and out.”

“Thanks, that would be good. Take one of these,” Rex held out a plastic glass, “the real ones tend to get broken out here.”

“Then you think you have all the pieces and once it gets nice and people are running around without shoes you find out you that you missed a bit,” said Brandon. “Someone ends up in the emergency room.”

The redhead laughed, “I’ll keep my shoes on.”

“It’s been about seven years since we had a broken glass,” said Chad. “It’s okay. There’s no glass anymore.”

“Good,” he stood, “Otherwise that would be a little scary.” He headed into the kitchen as Rex started handing out Hawaiian Punch.

Chad checked on the pies and said, “Give them a couple more minutes. How was school today?” Shannon rolled her eyes, “Stupid question, I know. I’ll rephrase it: how is school going?”

“Is it graduation yet?” asked Shannon.

“That bad? You’re still in middle school.”

“Talking of that,” she said, “You’re not using the fire pit on Saturday, right?”

“No, I’m driving our wonderful cast,” Mike nodded to the redhead as he came back outside, “back to the city and picking up Jared, Paris and Elisha. Chad is going to be my wing man.”

“No, I’m never doing a ten hour round trip with you ever again. I’m going to start editing the film.”

“You suck. You’re gonna sleep late. We’re leaving at seven and you’ll be in bed until eleven.”

“I’ll get up, say goodbye.” Turning to Shannon he said, “Why do you want to know about the fire pit?”

“I invited some people over.” Chad, all of his brothers and Mike sighed heavily. They knew what was coming from her tone of voice. “I know.”

“They’re mean girls,” said Nicky. “You know that.”

“I know,” Shannon nodded. “But if you’re friends with them they aren’t mean to you.”

Rex slid an arm around her shoulder, “They don’t like you. They like that you have a beachfront house that has a fire pit.”

“I know,” she repeated. Chad pulled the pies out of the fire. “I also probably shouldn’t eat this.”

“Okay, seriously, fuck that,” said Mike. “Yes, we are using the fire pit on Saturday. Do not tell them. Let them ride all the way up here on their bikes and then Paris can out mean them and say that they aren’t cool enough to be here. They’re bitches and Paris Hilton is the biggest bitch in the world. She can shut this down. Eat your pie.”

Shannon rolled her eyes but did eat her pie. “Wait, why is Paris Hilton coming?” asked Julie.

“She’s one of our best friends,” Mike shrugged.

“Oh, so you mean she’s like Paris Hilton,” Julie said. 

“No,” Chad shook his head. “She is Paris Hilton but when the cameras are off she’s not like that at all.”

Paris had come and had shut the girls down. It had done the trick. Ever since then, the mean girls had been nothing but nice to Shannon and she hadn’t had to hang out with them to make them not pick on her. 

On the screen Lucas doused the fire and said, “Okay, let’s roll.”

They met Julie at the car, she was back in normal clothes with her hair loose around her shoulders. As they drove they sang along with another song. There were fleeting views of the woods bathed in moonlight and pans of the town, lit by houses. They pulled up in front of a lit house that no one had parked in front of it. “Are we early?” asked the blond.

“Please tell me I did not get redressed for nothing,” Julie said.

“There’s a sign on the door,” Lucas unbuckled his seatbelt, “I’ll check it.” He got out the car and went up the path to the front door where there was a sign.

The note was written on several pieces of paper. The first was written in blue marker and said, “There’s no party here.” The second was in green and said, “Seriously, there’s no party.” The third was also in green and said, “Yeah, my parents are gone but there’s this no party. They just got white carpeting.” The fourth was back in blue and said, “I’m not opening the door. I’m in my boxers, eating microwave burritos and watching all the Rocky movies in order.” The fifth was in red and said, “DON’T KNOCK: THERE’S NO PARTY!” The sixth was a red heart outline with the words, “GO AWAY. Love, Mike xoxo” written inside it.

Lucas sighed and headed back to the car. As he climbed into the car he said, “There’s no party.”

“You didn’t even knock,” said Julie.

“The note says not to,” said Lucas. “So what’s the plan?” The clock at the bottom of the screen said, “10:29 PM.”

The redhead started his car and said, “Alan’s is the only game in town.” They cruised, music low and meandering. There were just shots of quiet streets, the center of town with a handful of people milling around then a country highway with other cars cruising. And then, as they pulled off at an exit, there were dozens, upon dozens of cars in front of a small restaurant with neon lights and chrome and a turning sign that had the name Alan’s Place. It was a diner straight out of the fifties. “So I guess the party is here,” he said. 

“Once, just once, I want to not end up at Alan’s on Friday night,” said the blond. 

“I want fries,” said Julie.

Chad had actually done the external shots of Alan’s on a Friday. But Alan’s daughter, Maria, had absolutely refused to let them shoot inside on a Friday as it was always anarchy on the weekends. Instead they’d shot on Thursday. He’d asked Rex and Nicky to tell everyone they knew that Chad was going to pay for food for two hours to get the place full enough on a week night to look crowded. It had turned out well. It had also been where most of the film’s budget had gone. The crowd was about half of what it would have been on a real Friday but they had all sat on one side of the diner and Chad and Mike had filmed from careful angles. There were shots of the four main kids chatting with other kids at tables with music playing. They ended up in a lime green booth eating fries and shakes and clearly having an awesome time, despite what the blond had said. 

When the dialogue became audible Julie was lifting her hair off her neck. She said, “It’s always so hot in here.”

“I don’t think the A/C can keep up with the sheer number of bodies,” said Lucas.

Julie nodded, “I’m going outside to cool off for a second. Lucas, keep me company?” He smiled and slid out of the booth. The music was muffled the minute the door shut behind them. She sighed, “That’s better.” She smiled, “So, I have a question.”

“Yeah?” he responded.

“Are you going to ask me to Prom? Because, I bought this dress and I’ve turned down two guys already. And I’m starting to get nervous because girls don’t go to Prom alone. And it’s okay if you don’t want to go but I need to know so I can say yes to someone.”

“I was worried you’d say no,” he said.

“Well, I can’t say yes or no until you ask me.”

He laughed, “Will you please come to Prom with me? As a date,” he added to clarify.

“Let me get back to you,” she said then laughed. “Was that so hard?”

“Sorry it took me so long,” he said.

“I wasn’t interested in doughnuts, you know. I only went to the store with you every day to give you a chance to ask me without the guys around.”

“Sorry.”

“Come on, I’ll buy you a sundae.”

“Asking girls to Prom gets you prizes?” he asked.

“No, I have to pay you back for all the doughnuts. I mean, c’mon, you stealing from Don? Not believable.”

“Girls like bad boys,” he shrugged. 

“Bad boys are stupid. They beat people up and get you thrown out of places.” She took his hand, “Come on.” She started to turn but he tugged her back and kissed her chastely on the mouth. “That took you two freaking years.”

“A year and a half,” he corrected.

She rolled her eyes and tugged on his hand. The camera panned to show him entwine their fingers, “Whatever, too long.”

As they walked back through the door he said, “Well, if you want someone who rushes things you should have gone for a bad boy.”

There were more shots of them hanging out but the clock said, “11:31 PM.” And the redhead said, “We gotta go if we want to hit curfew.”

“I can be last, I’m half past midnight,” said Julie. 

“Excellent, I am too,” said the redhead.

They all fished bills out of their pockets and left them on the table. In the car they danced to the music. As they pulled off the small highway they drove along the edge of the lake. The moon sparkled on the water and the kids sang, not even noticing the beauty of their town. They took it for granted while the audience’s eye was pulled to the scenery. 

They stopped at a shingled house and the blond jumped out. The clock said “11:48 PM.” And he said, “Tomorrow? We’ll get a movie out or something.”

“Lucas and I are busy,” said Julie. 

“What are you guys doing?” asked the blond.

“I don’t know yet.” He smirked at her response and she whacked him, “Get out; we’re on a schedule.” 

He laughed as he shut the door. “So you finally asked?” said the redhead.

“I had to tell him to ask,” said Julie.

“Pathetic,” said the redhead.

“A little,” agreed Julie as Lucas laughed.

They drove around the edge of the lake to end up at the other end of Lucas’ road. The clock said, “11:57 PM.” As Lucas opened his door he said, “Thanks for the ride, man.”

“Sure,” said the redhead.

Julie leaned toward his door and said, “Call me tomorrow, but not before eleven. You get up way too early.”

He smiled, “Night.” He gave the car a lazy wave as he walked up his front porch and then unlocked the door. He kicked off his shoes and went to the fridge to get another glass of Hawaiian Punch. He picked up the house phone and went out onto the back porch. He looked out over the water. He was humming the last song that had been playing in the car. It was perfect for the movie and Chad had loved it. He was glad that Lucas could carry a tune because it was a gem of a song. The phone rang and the clock at the bottom of the screen said “12:03 AM.” 

He picked up and said, “You’re late.” He listened and smiled, “Nothing, we had a bonfire here and then we ended up at Alan’s Place… No, she asked me in the end… stop laughing… Whatever, she’s going to Prom with me. I’m taking the win.” He nodded, “Yeah, totally.” Then he yawned, “Going to bed, I guess, it’s been a long day… Okay… Have a good night, Dad… Love you too.” He hung up and drained his glass. Looking at the lake he sang the song changing a few of the words, “I don't wanna be anywhere other than where I've been ‘hanging ‘round lately. All I have to do is think of home and I've peace of mind.” He exhaled slowly and whispered, “Goodnight,” toward the lake before turning and walking back into the house. 

The music rose as the clock read “12:04 AM” and the lights in the kitchen went out. The credits started to roll; the cast, Don, Sherry and his dad were listed then Mike’s name flashed up as Assistant Director, Second Camera, Assistant Editor, Continuity Editor, Driver. Then Chad’s name popped up as Writer, Director, Producer, First Camera, Cinematographer, Editor. After that there was a list of songs with all the bands’ myspace sites listed. Then it said, “Thank you to NYU for providing funds for this film and Prof. Anderson for suggesting it be sent to festivals. And thank you to friends, family, Alan’s Place, Don’s Doughnuts, this town and all the people who helped this endeavor.”

As it ended Mike said, “Fuck me, I love that movie. You realize that, while you put your middle name in those credits just because Chad by itself doesn’t sound professional, you will now always be Chad Michael Murray professionally?”

“I’m largely fine with that,” Chad shrugged. “Mike, thank you so much, for all your help. You did so much and you were awesome.”

“I just helped you be awesome,” Mike shrugged, “that was all you man.” 

“Your town is pretty,” said Jared. “I always think that this state is just this city. Every time we go to your house I’m shocked. I’ve never seen where Mike lives but where you live should be on postcards for the state. It’s such a sweet, innocent, quiet little film.”

“I basically live in Canada,” said Mike. “It’s too far away for a weekend break.”

“I love my movie, I always have: I loved it when I wrote, when we shot it and watching it now. But I thought it was mostly me. I thought I loved it because it was my home. And now, fucking Oscars, man.”

“It’s an awesome film,” said Mike. “It hits exactly the note you meant it to and it’s wonderful. It’s idyllic and sweet without being cloying, saccharine or unrealistic.”

Jared held out his phone, “The block has gone through, Ty’s calling.”

He smiled, “He’s done this three times today.” 

As he answered Ty screamed, “You got nominated for a fucking Oscar!”

Chad laughed, “Hi, Ty.”

“How’s your day been since we last spoke?”

“Weird, Ty, really, really weird.”

“Weird like what?”

“Kenzie dumped me, Mom called, a sandwich place gave me a free sandwich for being almost famous, strangers gave me a round of applause and a little girl asked for my autograph.” 

“Mom called?” asked Ty. Chad saw that Mike looked horrified and gave nod, to acknowledge how much it sucked. 

“Yeah, then I hung up and she wouldn’t stop calling so Jared had to block her number.”

“Do you want me to come out there?” asked Ty.

“No, that’s ridiculous,” Chad said.

“No, it’s not. I can be on a plane in two hours. I will be at LaGuardia Airport in five hours.”

“Dude, it’s Thursday. I’m pretty sure cutting class in med school is a big deal.”

“Dude, I don’t have class on Fridays and Monday is Martin Luther King Day. I’m looking it up right now. Stay on the phone.”

Chad knew he should have said no. He should have said that Ty was being ridiculous. He should have said that he was twenty-two and didn’t need his big brother to come hug him. Instead he said, “Rex and Shannon are coming Saturday morning.”

“So? You have three bedrooms and a couch. We’ll figure it out. Jared and Mike will share, they’re your best friends and you’re having the most incredible slash terrible day of your life.”

“Ty, you don’t need to come. I do have a class tomorrow.”

“I know that I don’t need to come. But class is only fifty minutes. I have studying and homework. There are some magic little words you can say and I won’t come. You know what they are so this is your chance.”

Chad knew that the magic words were, “I don’t want you to come.” But instead he said, “I just got paid from the hospital. I can pay for your ticket.”

“I think it’s hilarious that my baby brother works at a hospital while I’m the one in med school. I would say no to the offer because I’m older. But I’m looking at tickets now and because it’s such short notice they’re pretty high. Can we split it? It’ll be three hundred each.” 

“Yes, let me get my debit card.” Chad read out the numbers to Ty.

“Okay, I’m going to call because the website won’t let me split it between cards. Have you called Dad yet?”

“Of course. This morning, he was the first person I called.”

“No, Chadinator, did you tell him about Mom?” Chad sighed, “You gotta tell Dad.”

“Dad already worries about stuff.”

“He needs to know. Also, I need you to text me her number.”

“Why?”

“So I can call her, ream her out and block the number.’

“Okay.”

“Okay, text me the number and call Dad. I’ll text you the minute I’m booked, okay?”

“Okay.” He hung up and looked at is call log and texted the number to his big brother. Mike was still looking at him with sad eyes and Chad said, “Mike, if you could stop looking at me like that I’d really appreciate it.”

“Your mom?”

“Yeah, she’s a total day-ruining cunt. I mean, what the fuck? Not a fucking peep for twelve years. She didn’t come to my graduation after I wrote and begged. Bitch, it totally put a kink in my day.”

“And Kenzie?” he asked.

“Apparently it’s not okay that I want to bring my dad as my date to the Oscars.”

“Bitch!” said Mike with vehemence. 

“Can I borrow your car to pick up Ty?”

“I’ll drive,” agreed Mike. “We need to pull our stuff together. We have class in less than an hour.”

“Let me call my dad.” His phone buzzed with a text of Ty’s flight details. Reading he said, “Do you think the girls would mind having dinner late? He lands at nine-twenty.”

“The girls will be fine with it,” Jared assured him. “I’ll fill them in with everything?”

He said it as a question and Chad, “Yes, please. I don’t want to have to keep saying it out loud. I’m gonna tell Dad and if he thinks the kids should know then I’ll do it.”

Jared nodded, “Whatever you want. You got nominated for an Oscar!”

Chad smiled, “Yeah. Just let me call Dad.” He went into his bedroom and sat down on his bed to call him, worried about what he would say. He took a deep breath, looking at his dad’s number and hit send. 

His dad picked up saying, “Hey, Chadinator, I’ve called around. Everything is comped. They are sending tuxes, they were paying for the room. I’m booking our plane tickets. I’m so excited. Have I thanked you enough for bringing me?”

“Dad, I love you. You know that, I always want you to be my plus one on big days.”

“You okay, Chad?”

He sighed, “Ty’s coming. He’s getting on a plane.”

“Why? I mean, I know he’s excited but he was here a few weeks ago for Christmas.”

“My girlfriend dumped me,” he paused and finally said the truth, “Dad, Mom called me. It really upset me and so he’s coming.”

“Your mother called?”

“She wouldn’t stop calling after the first time, when I just hung up, she kept calling. Jared shouted at her and blocked her number. Ty wanted her number so that he could shout and block her from his phone too.”

“Chad, are you okay?”

“If I was Ty wouldn’t be coming. But he is and the girls are cooking us dinner. I’ll be okay.”

“Do you want me to come out?”

“No, I’ll be okay. If Rex and Shannon are coming then we are seriously out of bed space.”

“Well, maybe you should come home.”

“No, Dad, I’ll be okay. Ty is coming and the girls are cooking dinner and I’m about to head over to a film class when I’m going to get cheered. Mom can’t call me and Kenzie is stupid.”

“I’m sorry about your girlfriend. What happened?”

“You’re my plus one and she was not happy about that.”

“Oh, Chadinator.”

“It sucks but there you go. We’re gonna have an awesome time in Hollywood. We’re going to see celebrities, we’re going to hang out in LA and we’re going to get our picture taken in front of the Hollywood sign. We’re going to be awesome and she isn’t even getting a souvenir t-shirt.”

“Chad,” Mike called through the door. “We gots ta go.”

“I’ve got class. Love you, Dad.”

“Can you text me your mother’s number?”

“Do you want to shout at her?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Okay.”

“Love you. You can call me whenever you want. You know that, right?”

“I know, Dad.”

“Get back to having an awesome day. You were nominated for a fucking Oscar!” His dad rarely swore and it never failed to make Chad laugh. 

“I was nominated for a fucking Oscar!”

“Bye, Chad.”

“Bye, Dad,” he hung up, texted the number and reached for his shoes. He fell off his bed and groaned. 

“Dude, you okay?” asked Jared though the door. 

“I’m drunker than I thought,” he called. “Help.” Jared opened the door and started to laugh. “Under my bed is gross. It’s like, where gross things go to die. Remind me to clean my room when I’m sober.”

“Okay, Oscar Nominated Drunky McDrunckerton, time to get off the floor.” He lifted Chad and put him back on his bed. “What shoes do you want?”

“Lime green Jordans please.” 

Jared put his shoes on for him as he said, “No straight man should own this many shoes… I don’t know any gay guys with this many shoes.” 

“You’re jealous.”

“Okay,” agreed Jared. “I’m double knotting your laces ‘cause you’re so drunk you might lose one.”

He patted Jared’s head and said, “Shannon’s right, I didn’t have nice friends in high school. I love you, Jay.”

“If only you were gay, Chad, you’d make me the happiest man on Earth.”

“I so would,” Chad nodded, still patting him. 

Jared stood and offered him a hand. He pulled Chad to his feet. He handed Chad his bag and said, “Let’s get you a drink.” He led him into the kitchen and got him a glass of water. Leaning into the fridge he got Chad a plastic bottle of Coke and said, “Drink that during class. You don’t want a hangover before Ty even gets here.”

“I’m so excited that he’s coming. He really is my best friend… Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Jared said with a smile. 

“He’s been my best friend since the minute I was born,” said Chad. Chad drank the glass of water as Mike came into the kitchen.

Mike smiled, “Can you take the subway? Are you sober enough?”

Chad nodded and put his empty glass down. “I’m ready.”

Mike held out a copy of the movie, “The professor might be swayed into watching this.”

Chad laughed and said, “Bro, that would be so funny.”

The professor brought Chad up onto the stage at their lecture and asked him what it felt like to be nominated. Chad told them all about getting a free sandwich, signing an autograph and getting a round of applause. The professor asked about his brush with fame and Chad said, “Y’know how they always say that people come out of the woodwork when you get famous?” The professor nodded. “My deadbeat mother who I haven’t seen in twelve years called me. It was not okay. My roommate — not Mike, who we all know and love and who helped so much with the film, our other roommate — blocked her number for me.” He looked out at the audience of other students and said, “Seriously, you guys, if you abandon your six kids when the baby isn’t even a full year old you can’t call if one of them gets a little famous.” He sighed, “But my big brother is on a plane and coming to see me for the weekend. My next younger brother and baby sister are coming and my sister is baking me a cake and she cooks a mean banana pudding cake. And tonight, after Ty gets here, my friends who go to the Culinary Institute are making us dinner. We watched the film earlier and I’m sure we will watch it multiple times this weekend. It should be a great weekend.”

“I’ve heard it’s a great film. I haven’t actually seen it.”

“I have a copy,” Mike said whipping it out of his bag. “We’re always watching Oscar nods with an eye for the art in this class and I thought we could watch this and then have a Q&A with an Oscar Nominated Film Maker.”

The professor smiled and said, “It would be a waste of resources not to. Chad, would that be okay with you?”

Chad grinned, “Totally! That would be awesome. I think Mike should be up here for the Q&A because he helped with everything.”

Mike shook his head as he passed off the DVD to the professor, “I drove, held a camera and did some cheerleading. This is all Chad, seriously.”

Both Chad and Mike left the stage and got comfy in the movie theater style chairs. Chad got sucked in again even though it was less than two hours since he’d last watched it. He drank his cola and watched in unfold. He really did fucking love his film. When it finished people got to their feet and clapped. Chad laughed as he got up and went to the stage. People clapped more and he couldn’t stop laugh. “Stop it; I’ll start blushing in a minute.” The professor always sat on a stool when discussing films. This time he brought two stools and that felt monumental to Chad: he was a real filmmaker. 

Chad sat down as the man shook his head, “That’s an amazing film. Congratulations!”

“Thank you very much. I love it. I’m glad you liked it.”

“It was beautiful. Where did you shoot?”

“Home. We went to my house. I live outside of Buffalo. That’s my house, my beach, my kitchen. That’s my dad cooking that kid a sandwich. It’s my high school, the doughnut store where I worked in high school and every Friday we hung out at Alan’s. I had an exceptionally small budget so I had to use places that were free and that I knew well enough to know we could be in and out without me needing to learn the geography for shots. We had a week so it needed to be someplace I didn’t need to study and had plenty of extras.”

“That’s your dad?” asked the professor. 

“Yep, and Don, the guy in the doughnut store, is Don my old boss who owns the doughnut store. And Sherry, in the grocery store, is Sherry who works at the grocery store… actually, I don’t think she has a name in the film. It was all locally sourced.”

“The four main actors? Are they from home?”

“No, they’re all underclassmen here at NYU. They came and crashed at my place. They got credit. I wrote them reviews. They’re good. You can see they’re good.”

“What was your inspiration for the film?” Chad told him about Prof. Anderson’s assignment about love letters to locations. The man nodded and said, “And what about the plot? You wrote the script.”

Chad nodded, “I didn’t have two guy friends in high school. I hung out with my brother Ty. And I was on the football team so I hung out with them. But there was a girl, Angela Kale. We hung out a lot. She used to come to Don’s to hang out while I worked. And three weeks before Senior Prom she asked me if I was going to get up the courage to ask her to be my date. I set it in junior year because then I didn’t have to address college which is the constant conversation in senior year. Other than cutting that out it was kind of a transcript of conversations that I have had dozens of times.”

“What about the mantra the Lucas recites before going out?” 

“You mean ‘I am an intelligent and bright young man. But I am seventeen and therefore a moron.’?”

“Yes, that, that was very sweet.”

“That was totally my dad. It was weird: when I was home over Christmas my baby brother Brandon was going out and my dad said, ‘Run me through your catechism.’ And I was shocked because Brandon is thirteen, he still gets spooked out by scary movies.” People laughed and Chad smiled, “He shouldn’t have a catechism because he shouldn’t be making bad decisions yet. So the only person in my family who hasn’t said it so far is Shannon but she’s twelve so Dad’ll probably start making her say it soon too.”

“What gels were you using for the colors?” the professor. 

It turned to technical details and the professor started using is remote to go to different scene to ask about specific shots. It was really fun and Chad loved talking about his movie. It was fun and easy as he knew the answer to every question the man asked. Then it was opened up to the students and they asked fun questions, some were just jokes because it was funny to have Chad up on the stage. The class was a three hour long lecture because they frequently watched films. 

When their time was up the professor said the same thing he always said to visiting filmmakers, “Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us about your work. We really appreciate your insight and being able to see your film through your eyes. Thank you.” Chad took his offered hand and shook it. Then they both started laughing. 

As Chad got off the stage Mike smiled widely at him and said, “We have to go home and get my car out of the lot so we can get Ty from LaGuardia. Right, it is LaGuardia not JFK?”

“LaGuardia,” agreed Chad.

“Thank God, I hate driving to JFK.”

They walked out together, still smiling at people. At home they dumped their stuff. Jared had cook books spread out with a note book and was clearly studying. He lit up when they walked in. Jared always sort of surprised Chad. 

He’d seemed cold and aloof when they first met. Jared had rolled his eyes every time Chad had tried to talk to him about the fact that he was dating a dick. Milo had set off every alarm bell in Chad. It was something in his face, the way he looked at other people verses the way he looked at Jared. And he’d been fucking right. 

But after Chad had spent the night in the drunk tank and Mike had come to bail him out Jared had been a totally different person. Jared was like a dog: incredibly affectionate and loyal to a fault. He always smiled when someone came in like it was the first time he’d seen them in years. “There they are: Oscar Nominated Chad Michael Murray and Some Dude Called Mike! Are we going to go pick up Ty? How was class? Did you convince the professor to show the movie?”

Chad told him all about it while Jared put on his shoes and Mike got his car keys. He finished by saying, “And he said, and I quote, ‘The lighting throughout the film was simply sublime.’”

“I now know what Chad’s o-face looks like,” said Mike, “we should go; traffic sucks at this time of the day.”

“Thanks, Mike,” said Chad.

It took them almost forty-five minutes to make the nine mile trip. Ty called a couple of minutes before they got to the airport and Chad asked him to go outside so that they wouldn’t have to park and when they pulled up he jumped out of the back to hug Ty. His older brother hugged him tightly and said, “You got nominated for a fucking Oscar!” Chad laughed. “I got on a plane to say that to your face.”

“Thanks for coming, Ty, I really mean it.” 

Ty kept hugging him and said, “You got nominated for an Oscar and Mom’s just some bitch who doesn’t know her children. Of course I came. Let’s get in the car before we get ticketed for loitering.” He had a duffle bag and they climbed into the back. He smiled brightly and said, “Jay, Mike, so great to see you! Thank you so much for coming and getting me.”

“Thanks for making the trip: it freaks me out when Chad is sad,” said Mike as he pulled away from the curb.

They drove home, talking about the Oscars and how awesome it was to actually be a part of that crazy world. At the apartment Jared produced another bottle of champagne, “Remind me to buy more champagne before Paris’ birthday.” 

It was an amazing weekend. Having Ty be there made it fantastic. The girls cooked an amazing five course meal and on Friday Chad spent most of the day just chilling out with Ty and eating things. Jared didn’t have class but had a lot of practical tests coming up so he just kept feeding them things saying, “Okay is this better or not as good as the last thing?” Each time he presented them with a recipe like that would increase Chad’s enjoyment. Then he had gone to class where he had received more applause. That night they went clubbing and the next morning Rex and Shannon came. 

They were both in PJs and Shannon groaned, “We’ve been on the road since five.” 

“You tumbled out of bed and went promptly back to sleep in the car. I got up at four thirty and have been driving for over five hours on icy roads.” Then he smiled at Chad, “Congratulations, Chadinator!”

He got hugs and cheers and Shannon said, “It’s all anyone’s talking about. Everyone is so excited and pleased for you.”

“We had a special assembly yesterday, the whole high school piled into the gym and we watched it. They clapped like you were in the room. It was kind of weird,” said Rex. “Then they gave us a speech about not trying to underage drink and pointed out how much fun the kids had once they stopped trying to get booze and started having a fire.”

Chad laughed, “That is so cool.”

“Nicky and Brandon wanted to come but Dad said there wouldn’t be enough space.”

“He was right,” said Ty opening the bathroom door wrapped in a towel. 

“Ohmigod, Ty!” said Shannon before hugging him tightly. Chad took that as a sign Dad hadn’t told them about Mom. He was glad: he didn’t want them to be sad.

“I had to come see Chadinator. It’s too cool not to come visit.” 

It was fun to hang out with them and Shannon ended up making five cakes three of which she put straight into the freezer. They had a great weekend and Rex and Shannon went home midmorning on Monday while Ty stayed until that evening. At the airport as he hugged Chad goodbye he asked, “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, so much better. Thanks.” 

“Queers,” muttered some guy as he passed them. 

Ty let Chad go and shouted after the guy, “Fuck you, bro, you’re the scum of the Earth!” the guy didn’t turn around and Ty smiled at Chad. “I miss New York. People down in Tennessee are both more polite and more bigoted. If you’re going to be an ass be an ass. Gotta go. I got a plane to catch.” He grabbed his duffle and said, “Jared, Mike: awesome as always.”

The next month was awesome Chad was riding high on the euphoria and figured he should enjoy it while it lasted as it would all be a memory soon. He got measured for a tux and sent the numbers to his dad who was dealing with all that and his dad sent him a DVD the Oscars had sent him. Tom Hanks walked potential Oscar winners through giving speeches. Apparently if you didn’t make a list they didn’t cut you off for up to two minutes. Chad had no intention of making a list. Lists were boring because no one but the person winning the award knew those names. But he knew he wouldn’t win.

One day he was waiting on a subway platform and he saw Mathew Broderick. Usually he left celebrities alone. They were just people, no more interesting than him and just as entitled to being left the fuck alone. But this time he went up and said, “Hi.”

“Hi,” said Mathew Broderick.

“Usually I wouldn’t bother you. But I just got nominated for an Oscar and you’ve been to the Oscars so I thought I’d ask if you had advice. I’m Chad, by the way.”

“Congratulations on your nomination. What’s it for?”

“Short live action.”

“Oh! Which one?”

“6:22-12:04?” Chad said.

The man smiled, “I saw that at Tribeca. It was beautiful.”

Chad smiled, “Thank you.”

“Just be nice, be polite. Don’t try to jump into any pictures you aren’t supposed to be in and don’t swear if you win.”

“I don’t think I’ll win.”

“There are only four other nominations and it’s a really beautiful film. But the most important thing is that you enjoy it.”

Chad smiled, “Thanks.” A train pulled up and he said, “That’s me. Thanks for the advice!”

As he started to move away Mathew Broderick called, “Congratulations again!”

Chad smiled at him as he got on his train.

Then, suddenly, it was time for him to get on the plane. He drove to Buffalo with his friends because they wanted to watch the show with his siblings. They spent Saturday night just hanging out. His dad was a work, making up hours so that he wouldn’t have to take time off to go to the Oscars. The next morning on the plane he was bouncing next to his dad who kept smirking at him. “What?” he said.

“You look just like you did when you were eleven and I let you go to a PG-13.”

Chad laughed, “I think I was just as excited then.”

His dad laughed and said, “I’m so happy for you, Chad. This is your dream. I’m always proud of you. Now I’m just pleased for you and pleased that people are recognizing how awesome you are.” He reached out and patted Chad’s leg. “I don’t want you to be upset if you don’t win. The other films are very good. And they have a lot more practice.”

Chad shook his head, “Dad, I’m not going to win. But this will be so much fun.” 

It was. When they got to the hotel they were treated like royalty. The place was glitzy as fuck and Chad was glad they weren’t going to be paying. The tuxes were waiting for them at the front desk with his gift basket. The woman at the desk said, “Have you been nominated before?” Chad shook his head. “Well I don’t want you to be offended but I have to point out that you have to pay taxes on any gifts over eleven thousand dollars. The gift baskets are worth fifty grand. There is a card to donate things that will let you calculate what taxes you’ll owe on anything you keep. You can drop the card and whatever you don’t want down here.” 

Chad’s felt shocked and said, “Thanks for the heads up.” His dad took the basket and Chad took the tuxes. Upstairs in the room there was a bottle of champagne waiting, chilled, in a bucket with a note giving instructions about when to turn up. Chad ripped into the gift basket and instantly donated holidays, dinners out in LA, gym memberships and an antique silk kimono. He kept some snacks, some cool jewelry as Shannon’s birthday was coming up, a newly designed pair of Air Jordans. 

His dad looked at the list and said, “Keep the mattresses. We could do with new mattresses.” He went through the list and they ended up keeping way less than what they would have to pay taxes. 

Chad looked at his watch and said, “Let’s drink the champagne after. I don’t want to be tipsy on the red carpet.” They started to get dressed. 

His dad stopped him when he started to do his hair. “Chad, I don’t want to offend you but your hair has a very specific look that you might not want tonight.”

“What’s the look?”

“Manhattanite douchebag chic.”

“Seriously?”

“Which is fine because, I think you’ll agree, you’re a little bit jerky, you live in Manhattan and you’re very stylish. But will you let me do your hair?” 

“Seriously?”

“It looks good on you but it’s international TV. With your gel and the length of your hair I can make you look like a 30s film star.”

Chad nodded and his dad gelled his hair back, parting it off center and giving it a little bit of body and, sure enough Chad looked like someone in a movie set in the thirties. “Thanks, Dad.”

“When you were a little boy you used to arrange your toys to look nice when you took a picture with your Fisher-Price camera and I thought you were gay and I didn’t love you any less. When you were ten you used to come up with long stories that you would tell yourself and I thought it made sense that you didn’t have many friends because you didn’t need them. When you were in high school you were the stage manager for all the plays and I thought it was just that you couldn’t bear the idea of letting anyone else do it and get it wrong. And now it all makes sense. You have always made me so proud, Chad.”

Chad smiled, “I love you too, Dad.”

They finished getting dressed and his dad tied his bow tie for him. Then downstairs they saw celebrities lining up as limo after limo pulled away from the curb. They got in line and he kept smiling. “You’re still overexcited, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am: it’s the Oscars.” He watched the famous faces milling around. Turning to his dad he said softly, “This is coolest thing ever. I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

They got to walk the red carpet and it was truly excellent people watching. And then he saw Mathew Broderick waving him over. He said, “Come on, Dad, let me introduce you to a friend.” 

He brought his dad over as Mathew Broderick said, “Chad, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Mr. Broderick, this is my dad, Rex Murray. Dad, this is Mathew Broderick.”

The man reached out to shake his dad’s hand and said, “It’s just Mathew to my friends, Chad. It’s nice to meet you, Rex, you must be so proud of him.”

“I always am,” said his dad with a smile. 

They chatted for moment and then some reporter came over to talk to Mathew and Chad started to move away but Mathew caught his arm and as the reporter started talking to him he cut her off and introduced Chad and his dad. And said, “Chad is nominated for best Short Live Action Film.” The woman started to politely ask Chad about the film and Chad couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. She even asked him who he was wearing. It was awesome: he was being interviewed on live TV. Right after she switched to talking to Mathew and Chad said his goodbyes his cell phone started ringing with a text. He checked it and saw that it was from Rex and it read, “Holy fuck. We got it on tape!”

Chad smiled and handed it to his dad. His dad laughed but said, “Language.” Inside they sat down and the seats were less comfortable than the ones in the auditoriums at NYU and Chad turned off his phone. Then there was singing and awards and it was awesome. He couldn’t believe he was really there. And then it was the short live action. They were all such great movies and Chad couldn’t believe that he was considered to be in their league. And he was smiling a relaxed. He had achieved his dream: he had hit the big times. 

And then Charlize Theron said, “And the Oscar goes to… Chad Michael Murray for 6:22-12:04.”

Chad couldn’t believe it as his dad hugged him and pulled him to his feet. Then Chad was up on stage and accepting the statue as Charlize Theron hugged him. To the microphone he said, “I was so thrilled just to be here. I saw the other films in the category. Thank you, Academy, for thinking my movie was their peer. I’m a senior at NYU studying cinematography and tonight’s been so surreal that I’ve been waiting for Colin Firth to come over and say, ‘Okay, you’ve had your fun, now you need to go.’ So, thank you. Thousands of people, my whole hometown, helped this film. They know who they are and I am so grateful to them. The amazing thing is, I already had the perfect ten: I have five amazing siblings, four of the best friends anyone could ask for and my dad. So this guy,” he looked at his Oscar, “brings it up to eleven. But the person I have to thank is Dad. On TV single dads are jokes and the punch line is that men can’t raise children. And it’s not true. My dad works brutal hours to keep his six kids shod and fed and still goes to every school play, football game, ballet recital and teacher conference. He knows what’s going on in everyone’s lives and whether or not he can be home to eat dinner he always makes sure it gets to the table. When I was little I thought he had superpowers but when I grew up I realized he sleeps less than five hours a night and that’s way more impressive. I love you, Dad, and this is yours because without you it never would have been possible. I love you, Dad, thank you.” He stepped away from the mic and Charlize Theron took his arm and led him backstage. “That just happened,” he said, feeling shocked. “Did I ramble?”

“No, you were fine. You talked fast and you were under two minutes. It was a beautiful speech. Millions of dads are looking at their kids right now saying, ‘Why don’t you ever say nice things about me?’” She handed him the envelope and card with his name on it. 

He laughed then he said, “It was great to receive the award from you. I love Monster. It is one of the most brutal and bleak movies I have ever seen and I love movies that leave you feeling an emotion. You were amazing in it and I’ve watched it so many times because of your performance.”

With a big smile she said, “You are just the sweetest thing ever. I love movies that leave me feeling an emotion too. Which is why — every time I was at a festival where it was showing — I watched 6:22-12:04 again.”

“Really?”

She nodded, “I’ve seen it three times. It’s beautiful. Those movies weren’t your peers. The right person won the Oscar because yours was far and away the best in the category. It was sweet, understated and beautiful.”

He couldn’t stop beaming, “I’m so glad you liked it.”

She pointed at the Oscar and said, “I’m not the only one who likes it.” She showed him to a room where people were milling around, “You can make your calls here. You can’t go back into the room until there’s a commercial break. It was so nice to meet you. This won’t be the last time you’re in this room. I have to go change out of this dress but, congratulations. It’s a wonderful film.” She kissed his cheek and said, “We’ll be meeting again, I’m sure.” 

He felt himself blush as he said, “I hope so.” She left and he pulled out his phone and turned it on. He called home and when it picked up there was such a cacophony that Chad said, “Hello? How many people are there?”

“So many,” said Nicky. “Like, half the town, seriously. You won a fucking Oscar!”

“I did.”

“I’m putting you on speakerphone,” it got louder and then he heard Nicky shouting, “Shut up, you guys, Chad’s on the phone!” They started screaming more and Chad just laughed.

“Hi, everybody,” he called. 

“Your hair is awesome,” shouted Elisha, “You won an Oscar and you have great hair! You should have that hair all the time.” he laughed. 

People started shouting congratulations again and Chad said, “‘Kay, quiet you guys, seriously, thank you. Thank you, love you all. And, kids, executive decision: no school tomorrow. Ty, call the school and say I’m so awesome that I need an entourage to meet me at the airport or whatever.”

“Will do,” called Ty, “So proud of you, bro.”

“Chad!” Rex screamed.

“Bro,” he said back.

“I got into Cornell!”

“You got into Cornell? When?”

“Two weeks ago. But I wanted to wait to tell you, in case you didn’t win, as a consolation prize.”

“Rexy, that’s awesome. That is fucking awesome. I’m so proud of you. That is so fucking cool.”

“I have a video of him freaking out over the letter,” said Shannon, “I’ll show you when you get home.”

“Awesome,” he laughed. “Love you, guys. Congratulations, Rex-osaurs. Keep the party going. I’m gonna go hug Dad again.” People screamed their love and then hung up on him. Chad smiled at his phone as he turned it off and asked one of the Oscar officials, “May I go back in?” 

“Yes you may. Congratulations on your win.” The man led him through a couple of passages and opened a door. He pointed out Chad’s dad and said, “If you could take your seat quickly that would be great. We’ll be back on air in a few moments.”

“Of course, thank you.” He moved fast and there was a girl in his seat and he blinked at her for a second then she got up.

“I’m a seat filler.”

“Oh! Thanks for keeping my seat warm.” She smiled and was gone as Chad sat back down. His dad was beaming at him and Chad said, “So that just happened.” His dad turned and hugged him.

“I am so pleased for you.” 

“Charlize Theron just kissed me on the cheek.”

His dad laughed, “So you can die happy.” He studied Chad for a moment and then said, “You came in here with such a great attitude and I knew you wouldn’t be shattered if you lost but I saw a lot of those films with you at the festivals and I thought yours was the best. I had my hopes up and I am just so thrilled that this happened for you.”

Pulling back Chad saw he had tears in his eyes and said, “Don’t cry. I always cry when you cry. So please: don’t cry, Dad.”

“You told millions of people you love me and that I’m a rock star.” 

“You are a rock star,” he said, “I’m glad the world knows. You’re awesome.”

“And that’s coming from someone with an Oscar.”

“Want to hold it?” asked Chad then he snorted.

“Chad, I’m your father. You shouldn’t make innuendo heavy comments to your dad and then giggle. But, yes, I would like to hold it.” Chad fought not to laugh as he handed it over. “I should have gotten remarried just so you had a woman around during your formative years.”

“Moms are stupid,” Chad shrugged. The music started and people were told to take their seats. His dad draped his arm over the back of Chad’s chair. The statue went back and forth between them all night and it was awesome. 

They went to a huge party afterwards called the Governors Ball where a metric fuckton of celebrities came to congratulate him. And they all complimented his dad on being such a great father. It was getting late in the night and he and his dad weren’t talking to anyone and he said, “So, Rex is going to Cornell.”

His dad smiled, “You kids are so good at matriculating.”

Then the most unreal thing yet happened. Steven Fucking Spielberg came over. And then he introduced himself. Like Chad didn’t fucking know? And then he said, “I have a bootleg copy of the film. Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? That’s the most awesome thing I’ve ever heard. You own a copy of my movie?”

“Well, it’s theft.”

Chad shrugged, “Legit copies sold for two dollars to help send the film to festivals. I’m really not upset.”

The man smiled at him and said, “I’m trying to pull a movie together right now. I don’t have a cinematographer. I keep showing 6:22-12:04 to people and saying, ‘Find me someone who can do that. I want that camera work; I want that casual portrayal of extreme beauty.’ It made me bone deep happy. It’s called Calypso’s Journey.” Chad thought he knew where it was going but he couldn’t be right. Steven Fucking Spielberg couldn’t possibly be asking him to be the cinematographer on his film. “When do you graduate?”

“May fourteenth.”

“We’re scheduled to start preshooting on May twenty-seventh.”

“Is this a joke?” asked Chad. “It would be a really unkind joke.”

“Let’s make a movie.” 

Details were hammered out shockingly quickly. Chad was apparently getting a script and a nondisclosure agreement to be followed by a contract if he wanted in. He could tell people he was working on it but he couldn’t tell people what it was about. Steven Fucking Spielberg was taking down his address. Chad looked at his dad and saw that he looked just as shocked as Chad felt. “This is surreal. This is full on Salvador Dalí.”

Steven Fucking Spielberg laughed and said, “You’re thinking about this the wrong way. You’re thinking you’re a senior being offered a job by a Hollywood director. But really, I’m trying to convince an Oscar winning cinematographer with a great vision to jump on board. I’ve seen forty-eight minutes of your work repeatedly. I want to see more.”

“Oh, I’m on board, don’t worry. E.T. is my favorite movie ever. I’m sure the script will be great but it’s so much more important that I’ll be working with you. I really respect your work. Here’s a question, I made this film with a friend’s help, a lot of help. He’s a director, made a lot of little films. Do you know who I could get a reel to? I’d be scum if I got here and didn’t ask.”

“Michael Rosenbaum, right? He’s got a paragraph after his name in the credits,” said Steven Fucking Spielberg. Chad nodded. “Is he good?” Chad nodded again. “Well, you’re good and if you think he’s good he might be. I know a lot of people. Send it to me with the nondisclosure form. I’ll take a look; see if I can pass it on or see if I can give him notes.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, just tell him to keep it under two hours.”

“Thank you,” said Chad.

Steven Fucking Spielberg smiled at him and said, “I always like to start off relationships on good terms.” To his dad Steven Fucking Spielberg said, “You were fantastic in the film. Do you act?”

“No, I’m an air traffic controller. It’s twelve hour spilt shifts. The rest of the time I just hang out with my kids. Chad made a movie so I was in it but I’ve never been in anything else.” 

“You should be so proud. If the other five are even close to as talented, hardworking and personable as Chad is you’ve done a good job.”

“Chad’s my most cantankerous and worrisome.”

Chad thought about it and nodded saying, “I’m also the most foul mouthed.”

“True but you’re also the most earnest and responsible.” To Steven Fucking Spielberg his dad said, “Each kid’s a little different but it all equals out.”

“Congratulations!” said Steven Fucking Spielberg with a laugh. He shook both their hands and took out his wallet, He held out two dollars to Chad and said, “Chad, I want to start on an even field: this is for the copy of 6:22-12:04. I’ll speak to you soon.”

“Great,” said Chad. After the man left he looked at the money and then turned to his dad and said, “So, that just happened: I have a job straight out of college in my chosen field with Steven Fucking Spielberg.”

“Oh my God,” said his dad slowly. “That just happened.”

“Oh my God. I have to call home. I have to tell Mike. By the way, I think there are over a hundred people at the house and I canceled school for the kids.”

“Okay,” said his dad, he looked dazed. “You’re going to be working with Steven Fucking Spielberg!” 

“That just happened,” repeated Chad. “That’s better than an Oscar: that’s a job.”

“You have a job.”

“I gotta call home,” Chad turned on his cell phone on and scrolled through the numbers. He hit send and it was Mike who picked up.

“Hi, Chad!” he said, sounding excited, “Let me put you on speakerphone. Shut up, everyone, it’s Chad.” 

“I have huge fucking news, you guys. Mike, try not to cry happy tears. You know I’ll cry if you cry.” People laughed. “Steven Fucking Spielberg offered me a job and is going to watch your fucking reel.”

“No fucking way!” shouted Mike.

“Yes fucking way. Steven Fucking Spielberg is going to watch it and pass it on.”

“Holy fuck,” said Mike. “Chad, thank you,” he sounded weepy.

“Don’t you dare fucking cry, man, you know it’ll make me cry.”

“I can’t believe you did that for me.”

“Of course I did, bro, I love you. If I could give anyone else a leg up I would. This is our night, you guys. This is all of ours. Oh, and, earlier: Charlize Theron kissed me on the fucking cheek. So everything is just fucking awesome and bizarre. Love you all, I gotta go.” They screamed their love back as he hung up and turned around. Steven Fucking Spielberg was standing right behind him, smirking. “How much of that did you hear?”

“You’re really foul mouthed,” said Steven Fucking Spielberg. “I realized we didn’t exchange numbers. I took your address but not your cell phone number.” He held out his phone in one hand and held out his other to take Chad’s. They exchanged their phones. And Steven Fucking Spielberg said, “Now you have Steven Fucking Spielberg’s cell phone number.”

Chad felt himself blush and said, “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is exciting. I’m Steven Fucking Spielberg. Of course, keep in mind, I’ve been referring to you as The Genius Behind 6:22-12:04. I’m really excited.” Chad laughed. He handed back Chad’s phone.

Chad handed his back, “And you now have The Genius Behind 6:22-12:04’s number.” 

“That’s the spirit,” said Steven Fucking Spielberg. 

After he left again his dad started laughing and Chad said, “I can’t believe you didn’t try to warn me or stop me.”

His dad laughed and said, “It was too funny.”

“I take back everything nice I said about you on the TV.”

“You can’t take it back. Millions of people heard it.” 

Then Chad walked around finding the other nominees to compliment them on their films. He left the Oscar with his dad because it seemed like gloating to talk to the people who hadn’t won while holding it. He talked to them all about their films, saying why he liked them. They smiled and were nice but Chad didn’t think they really wanted to talk to him. Going back to his dad he asked, “Are you done? I’m kind of done.”

“I’m done,” agreed his dad. He handed the Oscar back to Chad.

As they went to leave an official came over and said, “If you’re leaving we should check in your Oscar.”

“Check it in?”

“So that we can have it engraved and ship it to you,” she said with a nod.

“You’re taking it away?”

“You’ll have it back within two weeks. You get to keep your envelope.” She nodded to the envelope he was holding and gave him some forms checking to make sure he wanted Chad Michael Murray printed on it, which he did, and to confirm his address. He made sure it shipped to his dad because his area wasn’t so great. He didn’t want it to get stolen from his apartment. Besides, his dad could put it up on the trophy wall with all the academics and sports awards they’d accumulated over the years. It was his dad’s Oscar and even when Chad got a house it would still live at Dad’s. He signed off on it all and didn’t force her to pry his fingers off the statue even though it was a close call. 

There were more limos outside. He was still buzzing as they drove. His dad was just smiling at him. In the hotel Chad started to instantly strip out of his tux and said, “I haven’t worn a tux since Prom.”

“I haven’t worn one since my wedding day.” 

“Leesh liked my hair. You made a good call on that.” He hung the tux up and then pulled on his sweats. He took the two dollars Steven Fucking Spielberg had given him and said, “I’m framing these: the first money I made in Hollywood.”

His dad smiled at him. “You know how I said I couldn’t be more proud of you?” Chad nodded. “That was one fantastic speech. I love you but I didn’t think you were much of an orator before tonight.”

Chad smiled, “So you’re still proud of me and not an award.”

“The award just shows other people recognize how great you are. It doesn’t make you any greater. That speech, on the other hand, made me very proud.”

“I meant every word.” He went to the champagne, still in ice and Chad figured someone had come in and changed it. There were also all the snacks from the gift basket. He grabbed some artisan chips. “I’m opening this.” His dad pulled on a t-shirt and was studying him. “What?”

“I don’t want to bring a sour note to the night. But it’s so rare we’re alone and I think it needs to be talked about.” Chad popped the cork and poured out two glasses before sitting on the bed. He opened the bag of chips and put them on the nightstand between their beds.

“What’s up?” He ate one of the chips and said, “God, these are so good Jared could have made them.”

“How much of the speech was motivated by your love for me and how much was anger at your mom?” His dad tried the chips and nodded: they were good chips.

Chad thought about it seriously as he took a sip of his champagne. “It was ninety percent about you. It was seven percent, ‘Go kill yourselves, politicians who think single parents are the cause of crime levels.’ And three percent, ‘Don’t ever contact me again, Mom.’” 

“Oh, Chad,” said his dad slowly.

“I’m here because of you. And I don’t want anything to do with her ever again. If she’d appeared at my graduation this year it would have been kind of cool, nice to know she knew I went to NYU. But calling ‘cause I got an Oscar nod?” he took another sip of champagne and ate a few more chips. “You were proud of me when I sucked at football because I stuck to it and didn’t give up even though I never improved. You were proud when I needed to get bailed from the drunk tank because I stood up for Jay. You were proud of the film because it was good and it took a lot of work. And she’s proud of the Oscar nod? Why, that wasn’t what took effort. And she can’t take pride in any of the rest of it because she wasn’t there and she didn’t teach me my morals or my work ethic. I don’t want her to feel anything about me because she’s no one and she can’t take any credit. And I’m done. I never want to have anything to do with her ever again. I’m putting it behind me. The speech leeched the last of it out of me.”

His dad nodded slowly and said, “Okay, but if it does ever get you down talk to me. I’m always here for you and being so angry at someone isn’t healthy.” He reached for the chips, “These are really good.”

“I’m not angry: I’m apathetic. As long as she never tries to contact me again I’m done.” His dad nodded again. “As long as we’re talking alone about heavy stuff?”

“Yeah?”

“How do you think Ty feels about her?” Chad asked taking a handful of chips.

“What do you mean?”

“I know that you adopted him before he could walk, I know he doesn’t remember or know his biodad. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he think of you as his real dad. But do you think he ever thinks about the fact that she left one dad, gave him a new dad and then left him with that new dad?” He didn’t want to hurt his dad but it was something he’d been wondering about.

His dad drank his champagne and got up, refilling their glasses. Sitting down his dad said, “You’re twenty-two, I guess that makes you a grownup. And you did just win an Oscar so you’re a professional. I guess you’re old enough to know.” He sighed. “She didn’t just leave. I know, to you it, felt like she was there one night and gone the next morning. She wanted to leave for a while. Would threaten to divorce me. Said that our life wasn’t what she expected. She was going to explore herself; she should have finished college; she made a mistake with her first husband and then she’d been single with a seven-month-old; she’d settled for the first stable and reliable man she’d met; and she never loved me she loved how much I loved her and Ty. It wasn’t me; it was her; she wasn’t supposed to be a mother of six. And then, that last night, we were having yet another fight in our bedroom and she was packing. It wasn’t the first time she packed but it was the last. And I said she could leave but she wasn’t taking my children. Shannon was only nine months and she wasn’t taking my baby girl or any of my boys. She said I could keep my children but she was taking Ty with her. And I repeated that she wasn’t taking *any* of my children. You and Ty had a half hour space between your bedtime.”

Chad nodded, “He got to stay up because he was officially a preteen and I was only double digits.”

He dad gave him a slight smile, “Yup. You were in bed but Ty was in the living room watching TV. We weren’t shouting but, it’s an open plan on the first floor. He burst in, sobbing and he clung to me and just kept saying, ‘Don’t let her take me, Daddy.’ He’d grown out of calling me Daddy years before but he just kept repeating it. ‘Don’t let her take me, Daddy, don’t let her take me.’” he took a deep breath, clearly trying not to cry. After taking a sip of the champagne he said, “I hugged him so close and told him that no judge would ever say yes to a woman who only wanted one of her children. I told him that he was twelve and he could tell the judge that he wanted to be with us. I told him that I was never going to let her take him away from me. I promised that he wasn’t going anywhere. I took him up to bed and stayed until he fell asleep, my poor little boy. It took four hours for him to calm down and drift off and when I went downstairs she was gone and there was a note saying ‘I’m done,’ with her wedding ring on top. I got the divorce papers a week later. She didn’t ask for alimony or any form of custody. I signed them and I never heard from her again. When I called her to ream her out for calling you it was the first time I’d had any contact with her since the night she left. Don’t worry, Chad, Ty knows exactly where he belongs and doesn’t doubt his place in my heart. He’s the reason you’re named Chad and not Rex.” He reached for the chips, maybe searching for something to do with his hands.

“Really?”

“I always wanted a kid named after me but I didn’t want Ty to feel left out, like he was being replaced with my ‘real’ son. And it wouldn’t matter. My oldest son’s name is Tyler so as long as I got a Rex somewhere down the line I didn’t care. So Mom and I made a list of names we liked and he got to pick. Chad Michael Murray, it fits so well.”

“Could he even talk yet?”

“A bit, he was almost two when you were born. He lit up at Chad and Michael. And he could say Chad very clearly so it worked out.” He sipped his champagne again. “Do you ever think about the fact that he was a different biological father?”

Chad shook his head, “Not until she called and I realized that I didn’t think of her as my mother then I just wondered how Ty felt about it all. The minute I was upset he got on a plane, he’s always been my big brother but I just wondered if I was always his little brother.”

“The minute you were upset he got on a plane. That really tells you all you need to know. He loved you from the minute you were born. Ty knows who his dad is and where his home is. Don’t worry about him. He picked his place, that’s much more than most people get and he picked us.” He topped up the champagne glasses, “And I think he picked well. I mean, he’s happy and well loved, emotionally stable and in Vanderbilt medschool. Who knows what would have happened if he’d stayed with her?”

“She sucks and he’s awesome.”

“Yep,” agreed his dad. “All my kids are. Each of you are amazing and wonderful in your own ways. Vanderbilt, NYU, Cornell, an Oscar. You’re all going to do so well in your lives.”

Chad smiled and sipped his champagne holding it up he said, “Here’s to you, Dad. You’re the reason we’re awesome because you’re awesome.”

His dad held up his glass, “I am,” he agreed. Chad laughed. “So tomorrow, we can check out and as we only have backpacks we can go over to the Hollywood sign, do the walk of fame, grab some lunch and go home. Sounds good?”

“Yeah,” agreed Chad, glad for the subject change. “That sounds fun. I really want a picture of us in front of the sign. It’s so funny and clichéd.” He got more chips from the bag. They really were good.

“I agree. It’s too ridiculous to pass up.” He sipped his champagne. “I wonder if they’re still up.”

“I don’t know,” said Chad. “There were a lot of people there. Nicky said half the town but I can’t imagine you could fit that many people in the house.”

“Think of the rugs,” his dad groaned. 

Chad laughed, “Don’t worry: once I get a check from Hollywood I’ll rent a steam cleaner and help clean it.”

“That’s sweet of you.”

“I’m gonna help, once I start making money, I’m gonna help you.”

“Don’t be silly.”

“It’s not silly. If I can make Hollywood money you can retire early.”

“I like my job.”

“Well, you could switch to eight hour shifts.”

“Okay, well, you make your Hollywood money and then we’ll talk.”

Chad laughed and topped up their champagne. “I can’t believe everything happened tonight. Isn’t it weird? I mean, I got interviewed on TV, I won an Oscar, Charlize Theron kissed me, so many famous people told me they liked my movie and Steven Fucking Spielberg thinks I’m a genius. And it was all in one evening. The weirdest thing, the weirdest thing by far, is that now it’s you and me in a hotel in PJs having chips and champagne.”

“It was pretty Salvador Dalí.” 

They killed the champagne and finished the chips and both drank two glasses of water before turning in. He woke to the sound of his dad singing in the shower. The clock on the bedside table said nine AM which didn’t make sense to Chad but his watch said it was noon and that felt right. He stretched slowly and got out of bed. Looking over the snacks from the Oscar gift basket he grabbed cookies for breakfast. 

His dad opened the bathroom door singing, “Good morning, good morning: it’s great to stay up late. Good morning, good morning to you.” He paused, “I didn’t think you were awake.”

“So you planned on waking me up with a song? That’s so sweet. Have a cookie,” he said holding out the box. 

They dropped off their suits and the remainder of the gift basket along with forms at the front desk. The guy there was really nice and Chad wondered if he’d have been as nice if Chad hadn’t won. Then they spent the rest of the morning in the city, hitting the tourist spots and going to a point on Hollywood Fucking Boulevard that gave them a great view of the Hollywood sign and got a stranger to take a photo of them. They hit a bistro for lunch and picked up some silly little souvenirs for the kids and his friends. They grabbed a cab to the airport and ate more snacks on the plane as well as some terrible airplane food. 

And then, as they got off the plane and walked through the gate, Chad started laughing. The sound system blasted the song from the end of the movie. And there was a huge banner that said, “Congratulations, Chad! We Always Expected Great Things!” hanging on the wall. 

He turned to his dad who was smiling, “You’ve been running around this airport since you were knee high to a duck. Did you really think this would pass without notice? This is your moments and everyone is happy for you… Just don’t let it go to your head.” 

He saw paparazzi and as he hugged Paris she said, “I called some people and told them Paris Hilton was picking up an Oscar Winner. Maybe you can get into Us Weekly.” 

He kissed her cheek, “You’re the best.”

~~~

From People Magazine:

We’re so used to Oscar winners reading off thank you lists. We don’t know the names and it’s hard to get excited. In recent years the fashion has been more interesting than any of the speeches. But every so often there is a speech that stands out. It’s rarely the Best Actor or Best Director. This year it was a man — pretty much a kid — who won for a film few have seen, 6:22-12:04. (One of our interns saw it; adored it. We can’t get our hands on a copy.) Chad Michael Murray gave a moving speech all about his dad. For a moment we worried he might get played off the stage when he spoke of the portrayal of single fathers in the media. (The Oscars doesn’t like controversy.) But instead he told the world he loves his dad. 

Murray had a hero’s welcome at Buffalo Niagara Int'l where his father, Rex Murray, works as an air traffic controller. His five siblings and half the airport turned out to congratulate him. Not a name dropper, Murray was also greeted by “four of the best friends anyone could ask for,” Michael Rosenbaum, who helped make the film, and the three stars of Paris Hilton Learns to Cook: Jared Padalecki, Elisha Cuthbert and Paris Hilton herself.

Congratulations, Chad!

(Pictured L to R: brothers Tyler, Brandon, Rex, Padalecki, Cuthbert, sister Shannon, Chad Michael Murray, brother Nicolas, Hilton, Rosenbaum, father Rex)


End file.
